
Class _tlir^.^l2 



Book. vi . ^Mi^^^^ 



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COPYRIGHT DEPOSnV 




Altar at St. Edmundsbury 



SHAKESPEARE'S 



HISTORY OF 



The Life and Death of 
King John 



EDITED, WITH NOTES 

BY 

WILLIAM J. ROLFE, Litt.D. 

FORMERLY HEAD MASTER OF THE HIGH SCHOOL, 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



ILLUSTRATED 



NEW YORK • :• CINCINNATI • :• CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



UBHARY of CONSiilESS 
1 Two Copies Kecd?vijd 

FE8 29 1908 

' v>ouyff«iii cjiiry 






Copyright, i88o and 1898, by 
HARPER & BROTHERS. 

Copyright, 1905 and 1908, by 
WILLIAM J. ROLFE. 



KING JOHN. 



u^ 



PREFATORY NOTE 

This play, which I first edited in 1880, is now prcr 
sented in a thoroughly revised form on the same 
general plan as its predecessors in the new series. 

The references to '' Fleay " in the Notes are to Mr. 
F. G. Fleay's edition of the play (London, 1878). 
Those to the "standard" editions of Shakespeare 
(Theobald, Pope, Johnson, Malone, Steevens, Knight, 
Halliwell-Phillipps, Grant White, and others) need no 
explanation ; and the same may be said of those to any 
of the books mentioned on pages 136-138. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction to King John 9 

The History of the Play 9 

The Sources of the Plot .10 

General Comments on the Play Ii 

King John 19 

Act I . . . . . . . . . .21 

Act II 33 

Act III 57 

Act IV Ss 

Act V 107 

Notes 131 

Appendix 

Mrs. Siddons on Constance 225 

The Time- Analysis of the Play 229 

List of Characters in the Play 230 

Index of Words and Phrases Explained , . . 233 







Tomb of King John 




Death of King John 



INTRODUCTION TO THE LIFE AND 
DEATH OF KING JOHN 



The History of the Play 

King John was first printed in the folio of 1623, where 
it is entitled " The life and death of King lohn." It is 
the only one of the undoubted works of Shakespeare 
which is not entered in the Registers of the Stationers' 
Company. Internal evidence shows pretty clearly that 
it was written at about the same time as Richard II; 
and it is probable that it followed rather than preceded 
that play^ We cannot be far wrong if, with Furnivall, 
we assign it to the year 1595. Dowden also says: 

9 



lo King John 

" The chief point of difference with respect to form is 
that Richard II contains a much larger proportion of 
rhymed verse, and on the whole we shall not perhaps 
err in regarding Richard II as the earlier of the two." 
As it is included in Meres's list in his Palladis Tamia, 
it must have been put upon the stage before the publica- 
tion of that book in September, 1598. 

The Source^ of the Plot 

King John varies from the facts of history more than 
any other play of the English Series, being founded 
upon an earlier play published in 1591 with the follow- 
ing title-page : — 

The I Troublesome Raigne | of lohn King of Eng- 
land^ with the dis- 1 couerie of King Richard Cordelions | 
Base Sonne (vulgarly named. The Ba-|stard Fawcon- 
bridge) : also the \ death of King lohn at Swinstead \ 
Abbey. \ As it was (sundry times') publikely acted by the \ 
Queenes Maiesties Players^ in the ho- \ nourable Citie of\ 
London. Imprinted at London for Sampson Clarke,\ 
and are to be solde at his shop, on the backe-\sidQ of 
the Royall Exchange. \ 1591. 

In the year 161 1 this play was reprinted with 
" Written by W. Sh." added to the title-page ; and in a 
third edition, brought out in 1622, it was ascribed to 
" W, Shakespeare." This was doubtless a mere trick 
of the publishers to help the sale of the book, as the 
style proves conclusively that Shakespeare had no part 
in its authorship. 



Introduction ii 



General Comments on the Play 

While the dramatist follows the old play in the out- 
lines of his plot, and occasionally borrows its language, 
his real indebtedness to it is comparatively slight. 
The main incidents are the same, but the characters 
are almost re-created. " Artistically considered, Shake- 
speare took in the outward design of the piece, blended 
both parts into one, adhered to the leading features of 
the characters, and finished them with finer touches." 

Furnivall remarks : " Shakspere alters the old play 
... in order to bring it closer home to his hearers 
and the circumstances of the time, — the disputed 
succession of Elizabeth, and the interference of Spain 
and the Pope. The old play-writer made the murder 
of Arthur the turning-point between the high-spirited 
success of John at first and his dejection and disgrace 
at last ; and he, too, fixed on the assertion of national 
independence against invading Frenchmen and en- 
croaching ecclesiastics as the true principle of dramatic 
action of John's time. So long as John is the imper- 
sonator of England, of defiance to the foreigner, and 
opposition to the Pope, so long is he a hero. ... His 
death ought, of course, dramatically to have followed 
from some act of his in the play, as revenge for the 
murder of Arthur, or his plundering the abbots or 
abbeys, or opposing the Pope. The author of The 
Troublesome Raigne, with a true instinct, made a monk 
murder John out of revenge for his anti-papal patriot- 



12 King John 

ism. But Shakspere, unfortunately, set this story aside, 
though there was some warrant for it in HoUnshed, and 
thus left a serious blot on his drama which it is impos- 
sible to remove. The character which to me stands 
foremost in John is Constance, with that most touching 
expression of grief for the son she had lost. Beside 
her cry, the tender pleading of Arthur for his life is 
heard, and both are backed by the rough voice of 
Faulconbridge, who, Englishman-like, depreciates his 
own motives at first, but is lifted by patriotism into a 
gallant soldier, while his deep moral nature shows itself 
in his heartfelt indignation at Arthur's supposed mur- 
der. The rhetoric of the earlier historical plays is kept 
up in John, and also Shakspere's power of creating situ- 
ations, which he had possessed from the first." 

Gervinus, after remarking that " Shakespeare entirely 
followed this older work in the historical matter," goes 
on to say : " Artistically considered, he took in the out- 
ward design of the piece, blended both parts into one, 
adhered to the leading features of the characters, and 
finished them with finer touches. . . . The older Ki7tg 
John is a rough but not a bad piece, from which the 
poet could have borrowed many happy poetical and 
historical features. It possesses the old stiffness, and 
is intermingled wdth Latin passages according to the 
earlier custom, yet it is freer from the extravagances of 
the old school, from which these historical subjects in 
a great measure rescued us. The diffuseness in the 
second part is heavy, and here Shakespeare with excel- 



Introduction 13 

lent tact has remedied the evil by abridgment. The 
characters are designed in a manner suitable for our 
poet's use, but they are far less sustained than his. For 
the mere sake of speaking, speeches are put into the 
mouth of Faulconbridge which are inconsistent with his 
nature. Arthur, who once speaks in the childish tone 
of his age, loses it again, and in the pathetic scene with 
Hubert is a precocious disputant. How far Shakespeare 
excelled his best contemporary poets in fine feeling is 
evinced by his revised work as compared with this older 
play. Shakespeare delineates his Faulconbridge (and 
himself in him) rigidly and bitterly enough as a good 
Protestant in the base treatment of Popish arrogance. 
In suitable passages he gives full vent to the indigna- 
tion of the English at Popish rule and intrigue, encroach- 
ment and oppression, which at that time was readily 
listened to in London. But he did not go so far as 
to make a farce of Faulconbridge 's extortions from the 
clergy ; ... to our poet's impartial mind the dignity of 
the clergy, nay, even the contemplativeness of cloister- 
life, was a matter too sacred for him to introduce it in a 
ridiculous form into the seriousness of history. There 
are many similar crudenesses in the old piece, which 
Shakespeare has likewise effaced. At the marriage 
treaty between Lewis and Blanche, the poor Constance 
is present; at the indelicate discussion (i. i) between 
the brothers Faulconbridge, their mother is intro- 
duced ; the illegitimate son subsequently threatens his 
own mother with death if she does not confess the 



14 King John 

truth to him : this lack of tenderness does not occur in 
Shakespeare, In another respect also the accurate 
comparison of the two works is of the greatest interest, 
if we would watch Shakespeare's depth in the treat- 
ment of his poetry, as it were, in the work and in the 
creation itself. In many passages of the old play, 
where motives, delineation of character and actions, 
lay before him in ample prolixity, he has gathered the 
contents of whole scenes compactly into a single sen- 
tence or a single insinuation ; he disdains super- 
abundant perspicuity, and leaves to the actor, the 
spectator, and the reader something for his own mind 
to find out and to add." 

Mr. Richard Simpson {New Shakspere Society's 
Transactiojis, 1874) remarks that Shakespeare alters 
the old play in "eight chief political points," which 
he states thus : — 

" I. In Shakspere, John is told by his own mother 
that he must rely on his ' strong possession,' not on his 
right ; and the suggestion of the old play that Arthur, 
being ' but young and yet unmeet to reign,' was there- 
fore to be passed over, is thrown out. 

"2. Elinor tells Constance that she can 'produce a 
will that bars the title ' of Arthur. 

"3. History is altered to heighten and refine the 
characters of Arthur and Constance. 

" 4. John's loss of his French possessions is ac- 
centuated by the exaggeration of the dowry given to 
Blanch. 



Introduction 15 

"5. The scenes where John first persuades Hubert 
to murder Arthur, and then reproaches him for it, are 
inventions of Shakspere. 

''6. The compression of John's four wars into two, 
though absolutely necessary for dramatic arrangement, 
is so managed as to have an Elizabethan bearing. Of 
these two wars the poet makes the first to concern 
Arthur's title, without any religious or ecclesiastical 
motive. The second he makes to be in revenge for 
Arthur's death, with an ecclesiastical motive added in 
John's excommunication. This is wholly unhistorical. 
No English lord interfered in behalf of Arthur, whose 
death raised no commotion in England, and was long 
past and forgotten before the controversy with the pope 
about Langton began. The confederacy between the 
barons and Lewis was ten years after Arthur's death, 
with which it had nothing to do. . . . 

" 7. Pandulph insinuates to Lewis that it is his inter- 
est to abstain from interference till John's murder of 
his nephew should make interference profitable to 
himself. 

"8. Melun's confession of Lewis's intended treach- 
ery to the barons is the occasion of their return to 
allegiance. 

" Every one of these points, in which the poet devi- 
ates from the Chronicles, is so turned as to contain 
indirect references and allusions to contemporary poli- 
tics, or to events which had a decisive influence on 
them." 



1 6 King John 

Verplanck, in his comments on the closing scene of 
the play, observes : " The tragic poet has here brought 
the death of John into immediate contact with his most 
atrocious crime, as the natural sequence and just retri- 
bution of his guilt towards young Arthur. The matter- 
of-fact commentators complain, with Mr. Courtenay 
{Commentaries on Shakespeare'' s Historical Flays), that 
here is a long interval leaped over at once in which 
* foreign and cruel wars had raged with varied success, 
and one event had happened of which, although it is 
that by which we now chiefly remember King John, no 
notice is taken whatever. This is no other than the 
signature of Magna Charta.^ The plain answer to this 
is, that the poet's design was not to turn the chronicle 
of John's reign into dramatic dialogue, but to produce 
from the materials an historical tragedy; for which 
purpose Constance, Arthur, and the half -fictitious Faul- 
conbridge afforded more suitable materials for his 
imagination than Magna Charta, and the political 
rights of Englishmen acquired under it. By the selec- 
tion he made he was naturally led to the exhibition of 
female character as intense, as passionate, and as over- 
flowing with feeling, and with the most eloquent expres- 
sion, as his own Juliet, but with the same all-absorbing 
affection transferred from the lover to an only child. 
On the other hand, had he chosen the great political 
question for the turning-point of interest in his drama 
— and if touched on at all it must have been made the 
main and central point of the action — it would have 



Introduction 17 

required all the poet's skill to have avoided the too 
literal but unpoetical truth which Canning has so drolly 
ridiculed in his mock-German play, when one of the 
exiled Barons informs the other that — 

' The charter of our liberties receiv'd 
The royal signature at five o'clock, 
When messengers were instantly dispatch'd 
To cardinal Pandulph ; and their Majesties, 
After partaking of a cold collation, 
Return'd to Windsor.' 

" Mr. Knight's remarks on this point are exceedingly 
just and eloquent : ' The interval of fourteen years 
between the death of Arthur and the death of John is 
annihilated. Causes and consequences, separated in 
the proper history by long digressions and tedious epi- 
sodes, are brought together. The attributed murder of 
Arthur lost John all the inheritances of the house of 
Anjou, and allowed the house of Capet to triumph in 
his overthrow. Out of this grew a larger ambition, and 
England was invaded. The death of Arthur, and the 
events which marked the last days of John, were sepa- 
rated in their cause and effect by time only, over which 
the poet leaps. It is said that a man who was on the 
point of drowning saw, in an instant, all the events of 
his life in connection with his approaching end. So 
sees the poet. It is his to bring the beginnings and 
the ends of events into that real union and dependence, 
which even the philosophical historian may overlook, 
in tracing their course. It is the poet's office to pre- 

KING JOHN — 2 



1 8 King John 

serve a unity of action ; it is the historian's to show a 
consistency of progress. In the chroniclers we have 
manifold changes of fortune in the life of John, after 
Arthur of Brittany has fallen. In Shakespeare, Arthur 
of Brittany is at once revenged. The heart-broken 
mother and her boy are not the only sufferers from 
double courses. The spirit of Constance is appeased, 
by the fall of John. The Niobe of a Gothic age, who 
vainly sought to shield her child from as stern a destiny 
as that with which Apollo and Artemis pursued the 
daughter of Tantalus, may rest in peace ! ' " 



KING JOHN 



DRAMATIS PERSONM 

King John. 

Prince Henry, son to the king. 

Arthur, Duke of Bretagne, nephew to the king. 

The Earl of Pembroke. 

The Earl of Essex. 

The Earl of Salisbury. 

The Lord Bigot. 

Hubert de Burgh. 

Robert Faulconbridge. son to Sir Robert Faulconbridge. 

Philip the Bastard, his half-brother. 

James Gurney, servant to Lady Faulconbridge. 

Peter of Pomfret, a prophet. 

Philip, King of France. 

Lewis, the Dauphin. 

Lymoges, Duke of Austria. 

Cardinal Pandulph, the Pope's legate. 

Melun, a French Lord. 

Chatillon, ambassador from France to King John, 

Queen Elinor, mother to King John. 
Constance, mother to Arthur. 
Blanch of Spain, niece to King John. 
Lady Faulconbridge. 

Lords, Citizens of Angiers, Sheriff, Heralds, Officers, Soldiers, 
Messengers, and other Attendants. 

Scene: Partly in England and partly in France. 




Room of State in the Palace 



ACT I 

Scene I. King John^s Palace 

Enter King John, Queen Elinor, Pembroke, Essex, 
Salisbury, and others, with Chatillon 

King John. Now, say, Chatillon, what would France 

with us ? 
Chatillon, Thus, after greeting, speaks the King of 
France 
In my behaviour to the majesty, 
The borrow'd majesty, of England here. 

Elinor. A strange beginning ! — borrow'd majesty ! 

21 



22 King John [Act i 

King John. Silence, good mother ; hear the embassy. 

Chatillon. Philip of France, in right and true behalf 
Of thy deceased brother Geffrey's son, 
Arthur Plantagenet, lays most lawful claim 
To this fair island and the territories, lo 

To Ireland, Poictiers, Anjou, Touraine, Maine, 
Desiring thee to lay aside the sword 
Which sways usurpingly these several titles. 
And put the same into young Arthur's hand, 
Thy nephew and right royal sovereign. 

King John. What follows if we disallow of this ? 

Chatillon. The proud control of fierce and bloody 
war, 
To enforce these rights so forcibly withheld. 

King John. Here have we war for war and blood for 
blood, 
Controlment for controlment ; so answer France. 20 

Chatillon. Then take my king's defiance from my 
mouth. 
The farthest limit of my embassy. 

King John. Bear mine to him, and so depart in peace. 
Be thou as lightning in the eyes of France ; 
For ere thou canst report I will be there. 
The thunder of my cannon shall be heard. 
So hence ! Be thou the trumpet of our wrath 
And sullen presage of your own decay. — 
An honourable conduct let him have ; 
Pembroke, look to 't. — Farewell, Chatillon. 30 

\Exeunt Chatillon and Pembroke. 



Scene I] King John 23 

Elinor, What now, my son ! have I not ever said 
How that ambitious Constance would not cease 
Till she had kindled France and all the world 
Upon the right and party of her son ? 
This might have been prevented and made whole 
With very easy arguments of love, 
Which now the manage of two kingdoms must 
With fearful bloody issue arbitrate. 

King John, Our strong possession and our right for 
us! 

Elinor, Your strong possession much more than 
your right, 40 

Or else it must go wrong with you and me ; 
So much my conscience whispers in your ear, 
Which none but heaven and you and I shall hear. 

Enter a Sheriff 

Essex. My liege, here is the strangest controversy 
Come from the country to be judg'd by you 
That e'er I heard ; shall I produce the men ? 

King John, Let them approach. — 
Our abbeys and our priories shall pay 
This expedition's charge. — 

Enter Robert Faulconbridge, and Philip his bastard 

brother 

What men are you ? 
Bastard. Your faithful subject I, a gentleman 50 

Born in Northamptonshire, and eldest son. 
As I suppose, to Robert Faulconbridge, — 



24 King John [Act i 

A soldier, by the honour-giving hand 
Of Cceur-de-lion knighted in the field. 

King John. What art thou ? 

Robert. The son and heir to that same Faulcon- 
bridge. 

King John. Is that the elder, and art thou the heir ? 
You came not of one mother then, it seems. 

Bastard. Most certain of one mother, mighty king — 
That is well known — and, as I think, one father ; 60 
But for the certain knowledge of that truth 
I put you o'er to heaven and to my mother. 
Of that I doubt, as all men's children may. 

Elinor. Out on thee, rude man ! thou dost shame 
thy mother 
And wound her honour with this diffidence. 

Bastard. I, madam ? no, I have no reason for it. 
That is my brother's plea and none of mine, 
The which if he can prove, a' pops me out 
At least from fair five hundred pound a year. 
Heaven guard my mother's honour — and my land ! 70 

King John. A good blunt fellow. — Why, being 
younger born. 
Doth he lay claim to thine inheritance ? 

Bastard. I know not why, except to get the land, 
But once he slander'd me with bastardy. 
But whether I be as true begot or no, 
That still I lay upon my mother's head ; 
But that I am as well begot, my liege, — 
Fair fall the bones that took the pains for me ! — 



Scene I] King John 25 

Compare our faces and be judge yourself. 

If old Sir Robert did beget us both 80 

And were our father, and this son like him, — 

old Sir Robert, father, on my knee 

1 give heaven thanks I was not like to thee ! 

King John. Why, what a madcap hath heaven lent 
us here ! 

Elinor. He hath a trick of Cceur-de-lion's face ; 
The accent of his tongue affecteth him. 
Do you not read some tokens of my son 
In the large composition of this man ? 

King John. Mine eye hath well examined his parts, 
And finds them perfect Richard. — Sirrah, speak, 90 
What doth move you to claim your brother's land? 

Bastard. Because he hath a half-face, like my father, 
With that half-face would he have all my land ; 
A half-fac'd groat five hundred pound a year ! 

Robert. My gracious liege, when that my father liv'd, 
Your brother did employ my father much, — 

Bastard. Well, sir, by this you cannot get my land ; 
Your tale must be how he employ'd my mother. 

Robert. And once dispatch'd him in an embassy 
To Germany, there with the emperor 100 

To treat of high affairs touching that time. 
The advantage of his absence took the king 
And in the mean time sojourn 'd at my father's. 
Where how he did prevail I shame to speak. 
But truth is truth ; large lengths of seas and shores 
Between my father and my mother lay. 



26 King John [Act I 

As I have heard my father speak himself, 

When this same lusty gentleman was got. 

Upon his death-bed he by will bequeath'd 

His lands to me, and took it on his death no 

That this my mother's son was none of his ; 

And if he were, he came into the world 

Full fourteen weeks before the course of time. 

Then, good my liege, let me have what is mine. 

My father's land, as was my father's will. 

King John, Sirrah, your brother is legitimate. 
Your father's wife did after wedlock bear him ; 
And if she did play false the fault was hers. 
Which fault lies on the hazards of all husbands 
That marry wives. Tell me, how if my brother, 120 

Who, as you say, took pains to get this son. 
Had of your father claim 'd this son for his ? 
In sooth, good friend, your father might have kept 
This calf bred from his cow from all the world. 
In sooth he might ; then, if he were my brother's, 
My brother might not claim him, nor your father, 
Being none of his, refuse him. This concludes : 
My mother's son did get your father's heir ; 
Your father's heir must have your father's land. 

Robert. Shall then my father's will be of no force 
To dispossess that child which is not his ? 131 

Bastard. Of no more force to dispossess me, sir, 
Than was his will to get me, as I think. 

Eliiior. Whether hadst thou rather be a Faulcon- 
bridge 



Scene I] ^i^g John 27 

And, like thy brother, to enjoy thy land, 
Or the reputed son of Cceur-de-lion, 
Lord of thy presence and no land beside? 

Bastard. Madam, an if my brother had my shape. 
And I had his, Sir Robert's his, like him. 
And if my legs were two such riding;;TQdSy-— < 140 

My arms such eel-skins stuff'd, my face so thin 
That in mine ear I durst not stick a rose 
Lest men should say 'Look, where three-farthings 

goes ! ' 
And, to his shape, were heir to all this land, 
Would I might never stir from off this place, 
I would give it every foot to have this face I 
I would not be Sir Nob in any case. 

Elinor. I like thee well. Wilt thou forsake thy 
fortune. 
Bequeath thy land to him, and follow me ? 
I am a soldier, and now bound to France. 150 

Bastard. Brother, take you my land, I '11 take my 
chance. 
Your face hath got five hundred pound a year, 
Yet sell your face for five pence and 't is dear. — 
Madam, I '11 follow you unto the death. 

Elinor. Nay, I would have you go before me thither. 

Bastard. Our country manners give our betters 
way. 

King John. What is thy name ? 

Bastard. Philip, my liege, so is my name begun ; 
Philip, good old Sir Robert's wife's eldest son. 



28 King John [Act i 

King John. From henceforth bear his name whose 
form thou bear'st ; i6o 

Kneel thou down Philip, but arise more great, 
Arise Sir Richard and Plantagenet. 

Bastard. Brother, by the mother's side, give me your 
hand ; 
My father gave me honour, yours gave land. — 
Now blessed be the hour, by night or day. 
When I was got, Sir Robert was away ! 

Eliii07\ The very spirit of Plantagenet ! 
I am thy grandam, Richard ; call me so. 

Bastard. Madam, by chance but not by truth ; what 
though ? 
Something about, a little from the right, 170 

In at the window, or else o'er the hatch ; 
Who dares not stir by day must walk by night, 

And have is have, however men do catch. 
N^aTbr far off, well won is still well shot. 
And I am I, howe'er I was begot. 

King John. Go, Faulconbridge ; now hast thou thy 
desire, 
A landless knight makes thee a landed squire. — 
Come, madam, and come, Richard, we must speed 
For France, for France, for it is more than need. 179 

Bastard. Brother, adieu ; good fortune come to thee ! 
For thou wast got i' the way of honesty. — 

\Exeunt all but Bastard. 
A foot of honour better than I was, 
But many a many foot of land the worse 1 



Scene I] King John 29 

Well, now can I make any Joan a lady. 

' Good den, Sir Richard ! ' — ' God-a-mercy, fellow ! ' — 

And if his name be George, I '11 call him Peter, 

For new-made honour doth forget men's names ; 

'T is too respective and too sociable 

For your conversion. Now your traveller, — 

He and his toothpick at my worship's mess, 190 

And when my knightly stomach is suffic'd, 

Why, then I suck my teeth and catechise 

My picked man of countries : ' My dear sir,' — 

Thus, leaning on mine elbow, I begin, — 

' I shall beseech you ' — that is question now, 

And then comes answer like an Absey book : 

' O sir,' says answer, ' at your best command ; 

At your employment ; at your service, sir.' — 

' No, sir,' says question, ' I, sweet sir, at yours ; ' — 

And so, ere answer knows what question would, 200 

Saving in dialogue of compliment. 

And talking of the Alps and Apennines, 

The Pyrenean and the river Po, 

It draws toward supper in conclusion so. 

But this is worshipful society 

And fits the mounting spirit like myself, 

For he is but a bastard to the time 

That doth not smack of observation. 

And so am I, whether I smack or no ; 

And not alone in habit and device, 210 

Exterior form, outward accoutrement, 

But from the inward motion to deliver 



JO King John [Act I 

Sweet, sweet, sweet poison for the age's tooth, 
Which, though I will not practice to deceive, 
Yet, to avoid deceit, I mean to learn. 
For it shall strew the footsteps of my rising. — 
But who comes in such haste in riding-robes ? 
What woman-post is this ? hath she no husband 
That will take pains to blow a horn before her ? 

Enter Lady Faulconbridge and James Gurney 

O me ! it is my mother. — How now, good lady ! 220 
What brings you here to court so hastily ? 

Lady Faulconbridge. Where is that slave, thy 
brother ? where is he. 
That holds in chase mine honour up and down ? 

Bastard. My brother Robert ? old Sir Robert's son ? 
Colbrand the giant, that same mighty man ? 
Is it Sir Robert's son that you seek so ? 

Lady Faulconbridge. Sir Robert's son ! Ay, thou un- 
reverend boy. 
Sir Robert's son ; why scorn'st thou at Sir Robert ? 
He is Sir Robert's son, and so art thou. 

Bastard. James Gurney, wilt thou give us leave 
awhile ? 230 

Gurney. Good leave, good Philip. 

Bastard. Philip ! sparrow ! James, 

There 's toys abroad ; anon I '11 tell thee more. — 

\Exit Gurney. 
Madam, I was not old Sir Robert's son ; 
Sir Robert might have eat his part in me 



Scene I] King John 3 1 

Upon Good-Friday and ne'er broke his fast. 

Sir Robert could do well ; marry, to confess, 

Could he get me ? Sir Robert could not do it, 

We know his handiwork ; therefore, good mother, 

To whom am I beholding for these limbs ? 

Sir Robert never holp to make this leg. 240 

Lady Faulconbridge. Hast thou conspired with thy 
brother too, 
That for thine own gain shouldst defend mine honour ? 
What means this scorn, thou most untoward knave ? 

Bastard, Knight, knight, good mother, Basilisco- 
like. 
What ! I am dubb'd ! I have it on my shoulder. \ 

But, mother, I am not Sir Robert's son. 
I have disclaim'd Sir Robert and my land ; 
Legitimation, na^e, and allis__gone. 
Then, good my mother, let me know my father. — 
Some proper man, I hope ; who was it, mother ? 250 

Lady Faulconbridge. Hast thou denied thyself a 
Faulconbridge ? 

Bastard. As faithfully as I deny the devil. 

Lady Faulconbridge. King Richard Coeur-de-lion was 
thy father ; 
By long and vehement suit I was seduc'd. — 
Heaven lay not my transgression to my charge ! 
Thou art the issue of my dear offence, 
Which was so strongly urg'd past my defence. 

Bastard. Now, by this light, were I to get again, 
Madam, I would not wish a better father. 



32 Kii^g John [Act I 

Some sins do bear their privilege on earth, 260 

And so doth yours ; your fault was not your folly. 

Needs must you lay your heart at his dispose, 

Subjected tribute to commanding love, 

Against whose fury and unmatched force 

The aweless lion could not wage the fight, 

Nor keep his princely heart from Richard's hand. 

He that perforce robs lions of their hearts 

May easily win a w^oman's. Ay, my mother. 

With all my heart I thank thee for my father ! 

Who lives and dares but say thou didst not well 270 

When I was got, I '11 send his soul to hell. 

Come, lady, I will show thee to my kin ; 

And they shall say, when Richard me begot, 
If thou hadst said him nay, it had been sin. 

Who says it was, he lies ; I say 't was not. \_Exeunt. 




English Ships 



ACT II 

Scene I. France. Before Anglers 

Enter A'\]?>T'R.iA and forces, drums, etc., on one side : on 
the other King Philip of France and his power ; 
Lewis, Arthur, Constance, ^;2^/ Attendants. 

King Philip, Before Anglers well met, brave Austria. — 
Arthur, that great forerunner of thy blood, 
Richard, that robb'd the lion of his heart 
And fought the holy wars in Palestine, 
By this brave duke came early to his grave; 
And for amends to his posterity, 
At our importance hither is he come, 
To spread his colours, boy, in thy behalf, 
And to rebuke the usurpation 

KING JOHN — 3 33 



34 King John [Act ii 

Of thy unnatural uncle, English John. lo 

Embrace him, love him, give him welcome hither. 

Arthur, God shall forgive you Coeur-de-lion's death 
The rather that you give his offspring life, 
Shadowing their right under your wings of war. 
I give you welcome with a powerless hand, 
But with a heart full of unstained love ; 
Welcome before the gates of Angiers, duke. 

King Philip. A noble boy I Who would not do thee 
right ? 

Austria. Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kiss, 
As seal to this indenture of my love, 20 

That to my home I will no more return 
Till Angiers and the right thou hast in France, 
Together with that pale, that white-fac'd shore. 
Whose foot spurns back the ocean's roaring tides 
And coops from other lands her islanders, — 
Even till that England, hedg'd in with the main, 
That water-walled bulwark, still secure 
And confident from foreign purposes, — 
Even till that utmost corner of the west 
Salute thee for her king ; till then, fair boy, 30 

Will I not think of home but follow arms. 

Consta7ice. O, take his mother's thanks, a widow's 
thanks. 
Till your strong hand shall help to give him strength 
To make a more requital to your love ! 

Austria. The peace of heaven is theirs that lift their 
swords 



Scene I] King John 35 

In such a just and charitable war. 

King Philip. Well, then, to work. Our cannon shall 
be bent 
xA-gainst the brows of this resisting town. — 
Call for our chiefest men of discipline 
To cull the plots of best advantages. 40 

We '11 lay before this town our royal bones, 
Wade to the market-place in Frenchmen's blood, 
But we will make it subject to this boy. 

Constance. Stay for an answer to your embassy. 
Lest unadvis'd you stain your swords with blood. 
My Lord Chatillon may from England bring 
That right in peace which here we urge in war, 
And then we shall repent each drop of blood 
That hot rash haste so indirectly shed. 

Enter Chatillon 

King Philip. A wonder, lady ! lo, upon thy wish, 50 
Our messenger Chatillon is arriv'd ! — 
What England says, say briefly, gentle lord ; 
We coldly pause for thee ; Chatillon, speak. 

Chatillon. Then turn your forces from this paltry siege, 
And stir them up against a mightier task. 
England, impatient of your just demands. 
Hath put himself in arms ; the adverse winds. 
Whose leisure I have stay'd, have given him time 
To land his legions all as soon as I. 
His marches are expedient to this town, 60 

His forces strong, his soldiers confident. 



^6 King John [Act ii 

With him along is come the mother-queen, 

An Ate, stirring him to blood and strife ; 

With her her niece, the Lady Blanch of Spain ; 

With them a bastard of the king's deceas'd ; 

And all the unsettled humours of the land, 

Rash, inconsiderate, fiery voluntaries, 

With ladies' faces and fierce dragons' spleens. 

Have sold their fortunes at their native homes. 

Bearing their birthrights proudly on their backs, 70 

To make a hazard of new fortunes here. 

In brief, a braver choice of dauntless spirits 

Than now the English bottoms have waft o'er 

Did never float upon the swelling tide. 

To do offence and scath in Christendom. [Drum beats. 

The interruption of their churlish drums 

Cuts off more circumstance. They are at hand. 

To parley or to fight ; therefore prepare. 

King Philip. How much unlook'd for is this expe- 
dition I 

Austria. By how much unexpected, by so much 80 
We must awake endeavour for defence ; 
For courage mounteth with occasion. 
Let them be welcome then ; we are prepar'd. 

Enter King John, Elinor, Blanch, the Bastard, 
Lords, and forces 

King John. Peace be to France, if France in peace 
permit 
Our just and Hneal entrance to our own ; 



Scene I] King John 37 

If not, bleed France, and peace ascend to heaven, 

Whiles we, God's wrathful agent, do correct 

Their proud contempt that beats His peace to heaven. 

King Philip. Peace be to England, if that war return 
From France to England, there to live in peace. 90 

England we love ; and for that England's sake 
With burden of our armour here we sweat. 
This toil of ours should be a work of thine ; 
But thou from loving England art so far 
That thou hast underwrought his lawful king, 
Cut off the sequence of posterity. 
Out-faced infant state and done a rape 
Upon the maiden virtue of the crown. 
Look here upon thy brother Geffrey's face ; 
These eyes, these brows, were moulded out of his. loo 
This little abstract doth contain that large 
Which died in Geffrey, and the hand of time 
Shall draw this brief into as huge a volume. 
That Geffrey was thy elder brother born, 
And this his son ; England was Geffrey's right, 
And this is Geffrey's. In the name of God 
How comes it then that thou art call'd a king. 
When living blood doth in these temples beat 
Which owe the crown that thou o'ermasterest ? 

King John. From whom hast thou this great com- 
mission, France, no 
To draw my answer from thy articles ? 

King Philip. From that supernal judge that stirs 
good thoughts 



38 King John [Act II 

In any breast of strong authority 
To look into the blots and stains of right. 
That judge hath made me guardian to this boy, 
Under whose warrant I impeach thy wrong, 
And by whose help I mean to chastise it. 

King Johfi. Alack ! thou dost usurp authority. 

King Philip. Excuse, it is to beat usurping down. 

Elinor. Who is it thou dost call usurper, France ? 120 

Constance. Let me make answer, — thy usurping son. 

Elinor. Out, insolent ! thy bastard shall be king. 
That thou mayst be a queen and check the world ! 

Cotistance. My bed was ever to thy son as true 
As thine was to thy husband ; and this boy 
Liker in feature to his father Geffrey 
Than thou and John in manners — being as like 
As rain to water, or devil to his dam. 
My boy a bastard ! By my soul, I think 
His father never was so true begot ; 130 

It cannot be, an if thou wert his mother. 

Elinor. There 's a good mother, boy, that blots thy 
father. 

Constance. There 's a good grandam, boy, that would 
blot thee. 

Austria. Peace 1 

Bastard. Hear the crier. 

Austria. What the devil art thou ? 

Bastard. One that will play the devil, sir, with you, 
An a' may catch your hide and you alone. 
You are the hare of whom the proverb goes, 



Scene I] King John 39 

Whose valour plucks dead lions by the beard. 

I '11 smoke your skin-coat an I catch you right. 

Sirrah, look to 't ; i' faith, I will, i' faith. 140 

Blanch. O, well did he become that lion's robe 
That did disrobe the lion of that robe ! 

Bastard. It lies as sightly on the back of him 
As great Alcides' shows upon an ass ; — 
But, ass, I '11 take that burthen from your back, 
Or lay on that shall make your shoulders crack. 

Austria. What cracker is this same that deafs our 
ears 
With this abundance of superjEluous breath ? — 
King Philip, determine what we shall do straight. 

King Philip. Women and fools, break off your con- 
ference. — 150 
King John, this is the very sum of all : 
England and Ireland, Anjou, Touraine, Maine, 
In right of Arthur do I claim of thee. 
Wilt thou resign them and lay down thy arms ? 

King John. My life as soon ; I do defy thee, France. — 
Arthur of Bretagne, yield thee to my hand. 
And out of my dear love I '11 give thee more 
Than e'er the coward hand of France can win. 
Submit thee, boy. 

Eliiior. Come to thy grandam, child. 

Constance. Do, child, go to it grandam, child, 160 
Give grandam kingdom, and it grandam will 
Give it a plum, a cherry, and a fig ; 
There 's a good grandam. 



40 King John [Act ii 

Arthur. Good my mother, peace ! 

I would that I were low laid in my grave ; 
I am not worth this coil that 's made for me. 

Elinor. His mother shames him so, poor boy, he 
weeps. 

Constance. Now shame upon you, whether she does 
or no! 
His grandam's wrongs, and not his mother's shames, 
Draws those heaven-moving pearls from his poor eyes. 
Which heaven shall take in nature of a fee ; 170 

Ay, with these crystal beads heaven shall be brib'd 
To do him justice and revenge on you. 

Elinor. Thou monstrous slanderer of heaven and 
earth ! 

Constance. Thou monstrous injurer of heaven and 
earth ! 
Call me not slanderer ; thou and thine usurp 
The dominations, royalties, and rights 
Of this oppressed boy. This is thy eld'st son's son, 
Infortunate in nothing but in thee. 
Thy sins are visited in this poor child ; 
The canon of the law is laid on him, 180 

Being but the second generation 
Removed from thy sin-conceiving womb. 

King John. Bedlam, have done. 

Constance. I have but this to say, — 

That he is not only plagued for her sin. 
But God hath made her sin and her the plague 
On this removed issue, plagu'd for her 



Scene I] King John 4 1 

And with her plague ; her sin his injury, 

Her injury the beadle to her sin, 

All punish 'd in the person of this child. 

And all for her, — a plague upon her ! 190 

Elinor. Thou unadvised scold, I can produce 
A will that bars the title of thy son. 

Constance. Ay, who doubts that ? a will ! a wicked 
will ; 
A woman's will, a canker'd grandam's will ! 

King Philip. Peace, lady ! pause, or be more tem- 
perate. 
It ill beseems this presence to cry aim 
To these ill-tuned repetitions. — 
Some trumpet summon hither to the walls 
These men of Anglers ; let us hear them speak 
Whose title they admit, Arthur's or John's. 200 

Trumpet sounds. Enter certain Citizens upon the walls 

Citizen. Who is it that hath warn'd us to the walls ? 

King Philip. 'T is France, for England. 

Ki7igJohn. England, for itself. 

You men of Anglers, and my loving subjects, — 

King Philip. You loving men of Anglers, Arthur's 
subjects. 
Our trumpet call'd you to this gentle parle — 

Ki7igJohn. For our advantage ; therefore hear us first. 
These flags of France, that are advanced here 
Before the eye and prospect of your town. 
Have hither march'd to your endamagement. 



42 King John [Act li 

The cannons have their bowels full of wrath, 210 

And ready mounted are they to spitforiJi 
Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls. 
All preparation for a bloody siege 
And merciless proceeding by these French 
Confronts your city's eyes, your winking gates ; 
And but for our approach those sleeping stones, 
That as a waist doth girdle you about. 
By the compulsion of their ordinance 
By this time from their fixed beds of lime 
Had been dishabited, and wide havoc made 220 

For bloody power to rush upon your peace. 
But on the sight of us your lawful king, 
Who painfully with much expedient march 
Have brought a countercheck before your gates, 
To save unscratch'd your city's threaten'd cheeks, 
Behold, the French amaz'd vouchsafe a parle ; 
And now, instead of bullets wrapp'd in fire, 
To make a shaking fever in your walls. 
They shoot but calm words folded up in smoke, 
To make a faithless error in your ears, 230 

Which trust accordingly, kind citizens, 
And let us in, your king, whose labour'd spirits, 
Forwearied in this action of swift speed. 
Crave harbourage within your city walls. 
King Philip. When I have said, make answer to us 
both. 
Lo, in this right hand, whose protection 
Is most divinely vow'd upon the right 



Scene I] King John / M 

Of him it holds, stands young Plantagenf 

Son to the elder brother of this man, 

And king o'er him and all that he enjoys. 

For this down-trodden equity, we tread 

In warlike march these greens before your town, 

Being no further enemy to you 

Than the constraint of hospitable zeal 

In the relief of this oppressed child 

Religiously provokes. Be pleased then 

To pay that duty which you truly owe 

To him that owes it, namely this young prince ; 

And then our arms, like to a muzzled bear. 

Save in aspect, hath all offence seal'd up. 250 

Our cannons' malice vainly shall be spent 

Against the invulnerable clouds of heaven ; 

And with a blessed and unvex'd retire. 

With unhack'd swords and helmets all unbruis'd. 

We will bear home that lusty blood again 

Which here we came to spout against your town, 

And leave your children, wives, and you in peace. 

But if you fondly pass our proifer'd offer, 

' T is not the roundure of your old-fac'd walls 

Can hide you from our messengers of war, 260 

Though all these English and their discipline 

Were harbour'd in their rude circumference. 

Then tell us, shall your city call us lord, 

In that behalf which we have challeng'd it ? 

Or shall we give the signal to our rage, 

And stalk in blood to our possession ? 



44 King John [Act II 

Citizen. In brief, we are the king of England's 
subjects ; 
For him, and in his right, we hold this town. 

King John. Acknowledge then the king, and let me in. 
Citizen. That can we not ; but he that proves the king. 
To him will we prove loyal. Till that time 271 

Have we ramm'd up our gates against the world. 

King John. Doth not the crown of England prove 
the king? 
And if not that, I bring you witnesses, 
Twice fifteen thousand hearts of England's breed, — 
Bastard. Bastards, and else. 
King John. To verify our title with their lives. 
King Philip. As many and as well-born bloods as 

those — 
Bastard. Some bastards, too. 

King Philip. Stand in his face to contradict his 
claim. 280 

Citizen. Till you compound whose right is worthiest, 
We for the worthiest hold the right from both. 

King John. Then God forgive the sin of all those 
souls 
That to their everlasting residence, 
Before the dew of evening fall, shall fleet 
In dreadful trial of our kingdom's king ! 

King Philip. Amen, amen ! — Mount, chevaliers ! to 

arms ! 
Bastard. Saint George, that swing'd the dragon and 
e'er since 



Scene I] King John 45 

Sits on his horse back at mine hostess' door. 
Teach us some fence ! — [To Austria] Sirrah, were I at 
home, 290 

At your den, sirrah, with your lioness, 
I would set an ox-head to your lion's hide, 
And make a monster of you. 

Austria. Peace ! no more. 

Bastard. O, tremble, for you hear the lion roar ! 

King John. Up higher to the plain, where we '11 set 
forth 
In best appointment all our regiments. 

Bastard. Speed then, to take advantage of the field. 

King Philip. It shall be so ; — and at the other hill 
Command the rest to stand. God and our right ! 

\_Exeunt. 

Alarums and excursions ; then enter a French Herald. 
with trumpets J to the gates 

French Herald. You men of Angiers, open wide your 
gates, 300 

And let young Arthur, Duke of Bretagne, in. 
Who by the hand of France this day hath made 
Much work for tears in many an English mother, 
Vv^hose sons lie scatter'd on the bleeding ground. 
Many a widow's husband grovelling lies. 
Coldly embracing the discolour'd earth ; 
And victory, with little loss, doth play 
Upon the dancing banners of the French, 
Who are at hand, triumphantly display 'd, 



46 King John [Act II 

To enter conquerors and to proclaim 310 

Arthur of Bretagne England's king and yours. 

Enter English Herald, with trumpets 

English Herald. Rejoice, you men of Anglers, ring 

your bells ; 
King John, your king and England's, doth approach, 
Commander of this hot malicious day. 
Their armours, that march'd hence so silver-bright, 
Hither return all gilt with Frenchmen's blood. 
There stuck no plume in any English crest 
That is removed by a staff of France ; 
Our colours do return in those same hands 
That did display them when we first march'd forth ; 320 
And, like a jolly troop of huntsmen, come 
Our lusty English, all with purpled hands, 
Dyed in the dying slaughter of their foes. 
Open your gates and give the victors way. 

Citizen. Heralds, from off our towers we might behold. 
From first to last, the onset and retire 
Of both your armies, whose equality 
By our best eyes cannot be censured. 
Blood hath bought blood, and blows have answer'd 

blows ; 
Strength match'd with strength, and power confronted 

power. 330 

Both are alike, and both alike we like. 
One must prove greatest ; while they weigh so even, 
We hold our town for neither, yet for both. 



Scene I] * King John 47 

Re-enter the two Kings, with their powers^ severally 

King John. France, hast thou yet more blood to cast 
away? 
Say, shall the current of our right run on ? 
Whose passage, vex'd with thy impediment, 
Shall leave his native channel and o'erswell 
With course disturb 'd even thy confining shores, 
Unless thou let his silver water keep 
A peaceful progress to the ocean. 340 

King Philip. England, thou hast not sav'd one drop 
of blood. 
In this hot trial, more than we of France — 
Rather, lost more. And by this hand I swear, 
That sways the earth this climate overlooks, 
Before we will lay down our just-borne arms, 
We '11 put thee down, 'gainst whom these arms we bear. 
Or add a royal number to the dead, 
Gracing the scroll that tells of this war's loss 
With slaughter coupled to the name of kings. 349 

Bastard. Ha, majesty ! how high thy glory towers 
When the rich blood of kings is set on fire ! 
O, now doth Death line his dead chaps with steel ; 
The swords of soldiers are his teeth, his fangs. 
And now he feasts, mousing the flesh of men. 
In undetermin'd differences of kings. — 
Why stand these royal fronts amazed thus ? 
Cry havoc, kings ! back to the stained field, 
You equal potents, fiery kindled spirits ! 



48 King John ' [Act II 

Then let confusion of one part confirm 359 

The other's peace ; till then, blows, blood, and death ! 

King John. Whose party do the townsmen yet admit ? 

Kmg Philip. Speak, citizens, for England ; who 's 
your king? 

Citizen. The king of England, when we know the king. 

Kifig Philip. Know him in us, that here hold up his 
right. 

King John. In us, that are our own great deputy, 
And bear possession of our person here. 
Lord of our presence, Anglers, and of you. 

Citizen. A greater power than w^e denies all this ; 
And till it be undoubted, we do lock 
Our former scruple in our strong-barr'd gates, 370 

King'd of our fears until our fears, resolv'd, 
Be by some certain king purg'd and depos'd. 

Bastard. By heaven, these scroyles of Anglers flout 
you, kings, 
And stand securely on their battlements, 
As in a theatre, whence they gape and point 
At your industrious scenes and acts of death. 
Your royal presences be rul'd by me : 
Do like the mutines of Jerusalem ; 
Be friends awhile, and both conjointly bend 
Your sharpest deeds of malice on this town. 380 

By east and west let France and England mount 
Their battering cannon charged to the mouths. 
Till their soul-fearing clamours have brawl 'd down 
The flinty ribs of this contemptuous city. 



Scene I] King John 49 

I 'd play incessantly upon these jades 

Even till unfenced desolation 

Leave them as naked as the vulgar air. 

That done, dissever your united strengths, 

And part your mingled colours once again, 

Turn face to face and bloody point to point ; 390 

Then, in a moment. Fortune shall cull forth 

Out of one side her happy minion, 

To whom in favour she shall give the day, 

And kiss him with a glorious victory. 

How like you this wild counsel, mighty states ? 

Smacks it not something of the policy ? 

King John. Now, by the sky that hangs above our 
heads, 
I like it well. — France, shall we knit our powers 
And lay this Anglers even with the ground, 
Then after fight who shall be king of it ? 400 

Bastard. An if thou hast the mettle of a king, 
Being wrong'd as we are by this peevish town, 
Turn thou the mouth of thy artillery. 
As we will ours, against these saucy walls ; 
And when that we have dash'd them to the ground, 
Why, then defy each other, and pell-mell 
Make work upon ourselves, for heaven or hell. 

King Philip. Let it be so. — Say, where will you as- 
sault ? 

King John. We from the west will send destruction 
Into this city's bosom. 410 

Austria. I from the north, 

KING JOHN — 4 



50 King John [Act ii 

King Philip. Our thunder from the south 

Shall rain their drift of bullets on this town. 

Bastard. O prudent discipline ! From north to south, 
Austria and France shoot in each other's mouth ! 
I '11 stir them to it. — Come, away, away ! 

Citizen. Hear us, great kings ; vouchsafe awhile to stay. 
And I shall show you peace and fair-fac'd league. 
Win you this city without stroke or wound. 
Rescue those breathing lives to die in beds, 
That here come sacrifices for the field. 420 

Persever not, but hear me, mighty kings. 

Ki7igJohn. Speak on with favour ; we are bent to hear. 

Citizen. That daughter there of Spain, the Lady 
Blanch, 
Is niece to England ; look upon the years 
Of Lewis the Dauphin and that lovely maid. 
If lusty love should go in quest of beauty. 
Where should he find it fairer than in Blanch ? 
If zealous love should go in search of virtue, 
Where should he find it purer than in Blanch ? 
If love ambitious sought a match of birth, 430 

Whose veins bound richer blood than Lady Blanch ? 
Such as she is, in beauty, virtue, birth. 
Is the young Dauphin every way complete. 
If not complete of, say he is not she ; 
And she again wants nothing, to name want, 
If want it be not that she is not he. 
He is the half part of a blessed man. 
Left to be finished by such a she ; 



Scene I] King John 51 

And she a fair divided excellence 

Whose fulness of perfection lies in him. 440 

O, two such silver currents, when they join, 

Do glorify the banks that bound them in ; 

And two such shores to two such streams made one, 

Two such controlling bounds shall you be, kings, 

To these two princes, if you marry them. 

This union shall do more than battery can 

To our fast-closed gates, for at this match. 

With swifter spleen than powder can enforce, 

The mouth of passage shall we fling wide ope, 

And give you entrance ; but without this match 450 

The sea enraged is not half so deaf. 

Lions more confident, mountains and rocks 

More free from motion, no, not Death himself 

In mortal fury half so peremptory. 

As we to keep this city. 

Bastard, Here 's a stay 

That shakes the rotten carcass of old Death 
Out of his rags ! Here_^s^jLlaige,mowth, indeedj, 1 

That spits forth death and mountains, rocks and seas. 
Talks as familiarly of roaring lions 
As maids of thirteen do of puppy-dogs ! 460 

What cannoneer begot this lusty blood ? 
He speaks plain cannon fire, and smoke and bounce ; 
He gives the bastinado with his tongue. 
Our ears are cudgell'd ; not a word of his 
But buffets better than a fist of France. 
Zounds ! I was never so bethump'd with words 



52 King John [Act II 

Since I first call'd my brother's father dad. 

Elinor. Son, Hst to this conjunction, make this match, 
Give with our niece a dowry large enough ; 
For by this knot thou shalt so surely tie 470 

Thy now unsur'd assurance to the crown 
That yon green boy shall have no sun to ripe 
The bloom that promiseth a mighty fruit. 
I see a yielding in the looks of France ; 
Mark, how they whisper ; urge them while their souls 
Are capable of this ambition. 
Lest zeal, now melted, by the windy breath 
Of soft petitions, pity, and remorse, 
Cool and congeal again to what it was. 

Citizen. Why answer not the double majesties 480 
This friendly treaty of our threaten 'd town ? 

King Philip. Speak England first, that hath been for- 
ward first 
To speak unto this city ; what say you ? 

King John. If that the Dauphin there, thy princely son, 
Can in this book of beauty read ' I love,' 
Her dowry shall weigh equal with a queen ; 
For Anjou and fair Touraine, Maine, Poictiers, 
And all that we upon this side the sea, 
Except this city now by us besieg'd. 
Find liable to our crown and dignity, 490 

Shall gild her bridal bed and make her rich 
In titles, honours, and promotions, 
As she in beauty, education, blood. 
Holds hand with any princess of the world. 



Scene I] King John 53 

King Philip, What say'st thou, boy ? look in the lady's 
face. 

Lewis. I do, my lord ; and in her eye I find 
A wonder, or a wondrous miracle, 
The shadow of myself form'd in her eye, 
Which, being but the shadow of your son, 
Becomes a son and makes your son a shadow. 500 

I do protest I never lov'd myself 
Till now infixed I beheld myself 
Drawn in the flattering table of her eye. 

\Whispers with Blanch, 

Bastard. Drawn in the flattering table of her eye ! 

Hang'd in the frowning wrinkle of her brow ! 
And quarter'd in her heart ! he doth espy 

Himself love's traitor ; this is pity now. 
That, hang'd and drawn and quarter'd, there should be 
In such a love so vile a lout as he. 

Blanch. My uncle's will in this respect is mine. 510 
If he see aught in you that makes him like. 
That any thing he sees v/hich moves his liking 
I can with ease translate it to my will ; 
Or if you will, to speak more properly, 
I will enforce it easily to my love. 
Further I will not flatter you, my lord, 
That all I see in you is worthy love, 
Than this, — that nothing do I see in you. 
Though churlish thoughts themselves should be your 

judge. 
That I can find should merit any hate. 520 



54 King John [Act il 

King John. What say these young ones ? — What say 
you, my niece ? 

Blanch. That she is bound in honour still to do 
What you in wisdom still vouchsafe to say. 

King John. Speak then, prince Dauphin ; can you 
love this lady ? 

Lewis. Nay, ask me if I can refrain from love, 
For I do love her most unfeignedly. 

King John. Then do I give Volquessen, Touraine, 
Maine, 
Poictiers, and Anjou, these five provinces, 
With her to thee ; and this addition more, 
Full thirty thousand marks of English coin. — 530 

Philip of France, if thou be pleas'd withal, 
Command thy son and daughter to join hands. 

King Philip. It likes us well. — Young princes, close 
your hands. 

Austria. And your lips too ; for I am well assur'd 
That I did so when I was first assur'd. 

King Philip. Now, citizens of Anglers, ope your gates, 
Let in that amity which you have made ; 
For at Saint Mary's chapel presently 
The rites of marriage shall be solemniz'd. — 
Is not the Lady Constance in this troop ? 540 

I know she is not, for this match made up 
Her presence would have interrupted much. 
Where is she and her son ? tell me, who knows. 

Lewis. She is sad and passionate at your highness' 
tent. 



Scene IJ King John 55 

King Philip. And, by my faith, this league that we 
have made 
Will give her sadness very little cure. — 
Brother of England, how may we content 
This widow lady ? In her right we came, 
Which we, God knows, have turn'd another way. 
To our own vantage. 

King John. We will heal up all ; 550 

For we '11 create young Arthur Duke of Bretagne 
And Earl of Richmond ; and this rich fair town 
We make him lord of. — Call the lady Constance 
Some speedy messenger bid her repair 
To our solemnity. — I trust we shall, 
If not fill up the measure of her will. 
Yet in some measure satisfy her so 
That we shall stop her exclamation. 
Go we, as well as haste will suffer us, 
To this unlook'd for, unprepared pomp. 560 

\_Exeunt all but the Bastard. 

Bastard. Mad world ! mad kings ! mad composition ! 
John, to stop Arthur's title in the whole, 
Hath willingly departed with a part ; 
And France, whose armour conscience buckled on, 
Whom zeal and charity brought to the field 
As God's own soldier, rounded in the ear 
With that same purpose-changer, that sly devil, 
That broker, that still breaks the pate of faith, 
That daily break- vow, he that wins of all. 
Of kings, of beggars, old men, young men, maids, 570 



56 King John [Act II 

Who, having no external thing to lose 
/ But the word maid, cheats the poor maid of that, 
That smooth-fac'd gentleman, tickling Commodity, — 
Commodity, the bias of the world. 
The world, who of itself is peized well. 
Made to run even upon even ground, 
Till this advantage, this vile-drawing bias, 
This sway of motion, this Commodity, 
Makes it take head from all indifferency. 
From all direction, purpose, course, intent; — 580 

And this same bias, this Commodity, 
This bawd, this broker, this all-changing word, 
Clapp'd on the outward eye of fickle France, 
Hath drawn him from his own determin'd aid. 
From a resolv'd and honourable war, 
To a most base and vile-concluded peace. 
And why rail I on this Commodity ? 
But for because he hath not woo'd me yet ; 
Not that I have the power to clutch my hand 
When his fair angels would salute my palm, 590 

But for my hand, as unattempted yet. 
Like a poor beggar, raileth on the rich. 
Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail 
And say there is no sin but to be rich ; 
And being rich, my virtue then shall be 
To say there is no vice but beggary. 
Since kings break faith upon commodity. 
Gain, be my lord, for I will worship thee I [£xit. 




Falaise 



ACT III 

Scene I. The French King's Pavilion 

Enter Constance, Arthur, and Salisbury 

Constance. Gone to be married ! gone to swear a 
peace ! 
False blood to false blood join'd ! gone to be friends ! 
Shall Lewis have Blanch, and Blanch those provinces ? 
It is not so ; thou hast misspoke, misheard ; 
Be well advis'd, tell o'er thy tale again, 
It cannot be ; thou dost but say 't is so. 
I trust I may not trust thee ; for thy word 

57 



58 King John [Act iii 

Is but the vain breath of a common man. 

Believe me, I do not believe thee, man ; 

I have a king's oath to the contrary. lo 

Thou shalt be punish 'd for thus frighting me, 

For I am sick and capable of fears, 

Oppress 'd with wrongs and therefore full of fears, 

A widow, husbandless, subject to fears, 

A woman, naturally born to fears ; 

And though thou now confess thou didst but jest, 

With my vex'd spirits I cannot take a truce 

But they will quake and tremble all this day. 

What dost thou mean by shaking of thy head ? 

Why dost thou look so sadly on my son ? 20 

What means that hand upon that breast of thine ? 

Why holds thine eye that lamentable rheum, 

Like a proud river peering o'er his bounds ? 

Be these sad signs confirmers of thy words ? 

Then speak again ; not all thy former tale, 

But this one word, whether thy tale be true. 

Salisbury. As true as I believe you think them false 
That give you cause to prove my saying true. 

Constance. O, if thou teach me to believe this 
sorrow, 
Teach thou this sorrow how to make me die, 30 

And let belief and life encounter so 
As doth the fury of two desperate men 
Which in the very meeting fall and die ! 
Lewis marry Blanch ! O boy, then where art thou ? 
France friend with England, what becomes of me ? — 



Scene I] King John 59 

Fellow, be gone. I cannot brook thy sight ; 
This news hath made thee a most ugly man. 

Salisbury. What other harm have I, good lady, done 
But spoke the harm that is by others done ? 

Constance. Which harm within itself so heinous is 
As it makes harmful all that speak of it. 41 

Arthur. I do beseech you, madam, be content. 

Constance. If thou that bid'st me be content wert 
grim. 
Ugly, and slanderous to thy mother's womb, 
Full of unpleasing blots and sightless stains, 
Lame, foolish, crooked, swart, prodigious. 
Patch 'd with foul moles and eye-offending marks, 
I would not care, I then would be content ; 
For then I should not love thee, no, nor thou 
Become thy great birth nor deserve a crown. 50 

But thou art fair, and at thy birth, dear boy. 
Nature and Fortune join'd to make thee great; 
Of Nature's gifts thou mayst with lilies boast 
And with the half-blown rose. But Fortune, O, 
Sh6 is corrupted, chang'd, and won from thee ; 
She adulterates hourly with thine uncle John, 
And with her golden hand hath pluck'd on France 
To tread down fair respect of sovereignty 
And made his majesty the bawd to theirs. 
France is a bawd to Fortune and King John, 60 

That strumpet Fortune, that usurping John ! — 
Tell me, thou fellow, is not France forsworn ? 
Envenom him with words, or get thee gone 



6o King John [Act III 

And leave those woes alone which I alone 
Am bound to underbear. 

Salisbury. Pardon me, madam, 

I may not go without you to the kings. 

Constance. Thou mayst, thou shalt ; I will not go 
with thee. 
I will instruct my sorrows to be proud, 
For grief is proud and makes his owner stoop. 
To me and to the state of my great grief 70 

Let kings assemble, for my grief 's so great 
That no supporter but the huge firm earth 
Can hold it up. Here I and sorrows sit ; 
Here is my throne, bid kings come bow to it. 

\Seats herself on the ground. 

Enter King John, King Philip, Lewis, Blanch, 
Elinor, the Bastard, Austria, and Attendants 

King Philip. 'T is true, fair daughter ; and this 
blessed day 
Ever in France shall be kept festival. 
To solemnize this day the glorious sun 
Stays in his course and plays the alchemist, 
Turning with splendour of his precious eye 
The meagre cloddy earth to glittering gold. 80 

The yearly course that brings this day about 
Shall never see it but a holiday. 

Constance. A wicked day, and not a holy day 1 

\Rising. 
What hath this day deserv'd ? what hath it done, 



Scene I] King John 6 1 

That it in golden letters should be set 

Among the high tides in the calendar ? 

Nay, rather turn this day out of the week, 

This day of shame, oppression, perjury ; 

Or, if it must stand still, let wives with child 

Pray that their burthens may not fall this day, 90 

Lest that their hopes prodigiously be cross 'd. 

But on this day let seamen fear no wrack ; 

No bargains break that are not this day made ; 

This day, all things begun come to ill end. 

Yea, faith itself to hollow falsehood change ! 

King Philip. By heaven, lady, you shall have no 
cause 
To curse the fair proceedings of this day. 
Have I not pawn'd to you my majesty ? 

Constance. You have beguil'd me with a counterfeit 
Resembling majesty, which, being touch'd and tried, 
Proves valueless. You are forsworn, forsworn ; loi 

You came in arms to spill mine enemies' blood. 
But now in arms you strengthen it with yours. 
The grappling vigour and rough frown of war 
Is cold in amity and painted peace, 
And our oppression hath made up this league. — 
Arm, arm, you heavens, against these perjur'd kings! 
A widow cries ; be husband to me, heavens ! 
Let not the hours of this ungodly day 
Wear out the day in peace ; but, ere sunset, no 

Set armed discord 'twixt these perjur'd kings ! 
Hear me, O, hear me ! 



62 King John [Act III 

Austria. Lady Constance, peace ! 

Constance. War ! war ! no peace ! peace is to me a 
war. — 
O Lymoges ! O Austria ! thou dost shame 
That bloody spoil, thou slave, thou wretch, thou coward ! 
Thou little valiant, great in villany ! 
Thou ever strong upon the stronger side ! 
Thou Fortune's champion that dost never fight 
But when her humorous ladyship is by 
To teach thee safety ! thou art perjur'd too, 120 

And sooth'st up greatness. What a fool art thou, 
A ramping fool, to brag and stamp and swear 
Upon my party ! Thou cold-blooded slave. 
Hast thou not spoke like thunder on my side, 
Been sworn my soldier, bidding me depend 
Upon thy stars, thy fortune, and thy strength, 
And dost thou now fall over to my foes ? 
Thou wear a lion's hide ! doff it for shame. 
And hang a calf 's-skin on those recreant limbs. 

Austria. O, that a man should speak those words to 

me ! 130 

Bastard. And hang a calf's-skin on those recreant 

limbs. 
Austria. Thou dar'st not say so, villain, for thy 

life. 
Bastard. And hang a calf's-skin on those recreant 

limbs. 
King John. We like not this ; thou dost forget thy- 
self. 



Scene I] King John 6^ 

Enter Pandulph 

King Philip. Here comes the holy legate of the pope. 

Pandulph. Hail, you anointed deputies of heaven ! 
To thee, King John, my holy errand is. 
I Pandulph, of fair Milan cardinal, 
And from Pope Innocent the legate here, 
Do in his name religiously demand . 140 

Why thou against the church, our holy mother, 
So wilfully dost spurn, and force perforce 
Keep Stephen Langton, chosen archbishop 
Of Canterbury, from that holy see ? 
This, in our foresaid holy father's name, 
Pope Innocent, I do demand of thee. 

Ki7igJohn. What earthly name to interrogatories 
Can task the free breath of a sacred king ? 
Thou canst not, cardinal, devise a name 
So slight, unworthy, and ridiculous, 150 

To charge me to an answer, as the pope. 
Tell him this tale, and from the mouth of England 
Add thus much more, — that no Italian priest 
Shall tithe or toll in our dominions ; 
But as we, under heaven, are supreme head, 
So under Him that great supremacy, 
Where we do reign, we will alone uphold, 
Without the assistance of a mortal hand. 
So tell the pope, all reverence set apart 
To him and his usurp'd authority. 160 

King Philip. Brother of England, you blaspheme in 
this. 



64 King John [Act III 

King John. Though you and all the kings of Chris- 
tendom 
Are led so grossly by this meddling priest, 
Dreading the curse that money may buy out, 
And by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust, 
Purchase corrupted pardon of a man, 
Who in that sale sells pardon from himself, — 
Though you and all the rest, so grossly led. 
This juggling witchcraft with revenue cherish. 
Yet I alone, alone do me oppose 170 

Against the pope, and count his friends my foes. 

Pandulph. Then, by the lawful power that I have, 
Thou shalt stand curs'd and excommunicate ; 
And blessed shall he be that doth revolt 
From his allegiance to an heretic. 
And meritorious shall that hand be call'd, 
Canonized and worshipp'd as a saint, 
That takes away by any secret course 
Thy hateful life. 

Constance. O, lawful let it be 

That I have room with Rome to curse awhile ! 180 

Good father cardinal, cry thou amen 
To my keen curses ; for without my wrong 
There is no tongue hath power to curse him right. 

Pandulph. There 's law and warrant, lady, for my 
curse. 

Constance. And for mine too ; when law can do no 
right, 
Let it be lawful that law bar no wrong. 



Scene I] King John 6^ 

Law cannot give my child his kingdom here, 

For he that holds the kingdom holds the law ; 

Therefore, since law itself is perfect wrong. 

How can the law forbid my tongue to curse ? 190 

Pmidulph. Philip of France, on peril of a curse, 
Let go the hand of that arch-heretic. 
And raise the power of France upon his head. 
Unless he do submit himself to Rome. 

Elinor. Look'st thou pale, France ? do not let go 
thy hand. 

Constance. Look to that, devil ; lest that France 
repent. 
And by disjoining hands hell lose a soul. 

Austria. King Philip, listen to the cardinal. 

Bastard. And hang a calf 's-skin on his recreant limbs. 

Austria. Well, ruffian, I must pocket up these 
wrongs, 200 

Because — 

Bastard. Your breeches best may carry them. 

King John. Philip, what say'st thou to the cardinal ? 

Constance. What should he say but as the cardinal ? 

Lewis. Bethink you, father, for the difference 
Is purchase of a heavy curse from Rome, 
Or the light loss of England for a friend ; 
Forego the easier. 

Blanch. That 's the curse of Rome. 

Constance. O Lewis, stand fast! the devil tempts 
thee here 
In likeness of a new untrimmed bride. 

KING JOHN — t; 



66 King John [Act iii 

Blanch. The Lady Constance speaks not from her 
faith, 210 

But from her need. 

Constance. O, if thou grant my need, 

Which only lives but by the death of faith, 
That need must needs infer this principle, 
That faith would live again by death of need. 
O then, tread down my need, and faith mounts up; 
Keep my need up, and faith is trodden down ! 

King John. The king is mov'd and answers not to this. 

Constance. O, be remov'd from him and answer well ! 

Austria. Do so, King Philip ; hang no more in doubt. 

Bastard. Hang nothing but a calf's-skin, most sweet 

lout. 220 

King Philip. I am perplex'd, and know not what to 
say. 

Pandiilph. What canst thou say but will perplex thee 
more, 
If thou stand excommunicate and curs'd? 

King Philip. Good reverend father, make my person 
yours, 
And tell me how you would bestow yourself. 
This royal hand and mine are newly knit. 
And the conjunction of our inward souls 
Married in league, coupled and link'd together 
With all religious strength of sacred vows. 
The latest breath that gave the sound of words 230 

Was deep-sworn faith, peace, amity, true love 
Between our kingdoms and our royal selves ; 



Scene I] King John 67 

And even before this truce, but new before, 

No longer than we well could wash our hands 

To clap this royal bargain up of peace, 

Heaven knows, they were besmear'd and overstain'd 

With slaughter's pencil, where revenge did paint 

The fearful difference of incensed kings ; 

And shall these hands, so lately purg'd of blood. 

So newly join'd in love, so strong in both, 240 

Unyoke this seizure and this kind regreet ? 

Play fast and loose with faith ? so jest with heaven, 

Make such unconstant children of ourselves, 

As now again to snatch our palm from palm, 

Unswear faith sworn, and on the marriage-bed 

Of smiling peace to march a bloody host, 

And make a riot on the gentle brow 

Of true sincerity ? O, holy sir. 

My reverend father, let it not be so ! 

Out of your grace, devise, ordain, impose 250 

Some gentle order ; and then we shall be blest 

To do your pleasure and continue friends. 

Pandulph. All form is formless, order orderless, 
Save what is opposite to England's love. 
Therefore to arms ! be champion of our church, 
Or let the church, our mother, breathe her curse, 
A mother's curse, on her revolting son. 
France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue, 
A chafed lion by the mortal paw, 

A fasting tiger safer by the tooth, 260 

Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold. 



68 King John [Act iii 

King Philip. I may disjoin my hand, but not my faith. 

Pandulph. So mak'st thou faith an enemy to faith, 
And hke a civil war set'st oath to oath. 
Thy tongue against thy tongue. O, let thy vow 
First made to heaven, first be to heaven perform'd. 
That is, to be the champion of our church ! 
What since thou swor'st is sworn against thyself, 
And may not be performed by thyself ; 
For that which thou hast sworn to do amiss 270 

Is not amiss when it is truly done. 
And being not done, where doing tends to ill, 
The truth is then most done not doing it. 
The better act of purposes mistook 
Is to mistake again ; though indirect. 
Yet indirection thereby grows direct. 
And falsehood falsehood cures, as fire cools fire 
Within the scorched veins of one new-burn 'd. 
It is religion that doth make vows kept ; 
But thou hast sworn against religion, 280 

By which thou swear'st against the thing thou swear'st. 
And mak'st an oath the surety for thy truth 
Against an oath. The truth thou art unsure 
To swear swears only not to be forsworn ; 
Else what a mockery should it be to swear ! 
But thou dost swear only to be forsworn ; 
And most forsworn, to keep what thou dost swear. 
Therefore thy later vows against thy first 
Is in thyself rebellion to thyself. 
And better conquest never canst thou make 290 



Scene I] King John 6g 

Than arm thy constant and thy nobler parts 
Against these giddy loose suggestions, 
Upon which better part our prayers come in, 
If thou vouchsafe them. But if not, then know 
The peril of our curses light on thee 
So heavy as thou shalt not shake them off, 
But in despair die under their black weight. 

Austria, Rebellion ! flat rebellion ! 

Bastard. Will 't not be ? 

Will not a calf's-skin stop that mouth of thine ? 

Lewis. Father, to arms ! 

Blanch. Upon thy wedding-day ? 300 

Against the blood that thou hast married ? 
What, shall our feast be kept with slaughter'd men ? 
Shall braying trumpets and loud churlish drums, 
Clamours of hell, be measures to our pomp ? 
O husband, hear me ! — ay, alack, how new 
Is husband in my mouth ! — even for that name. 
Which till this time my tongue did ne'er pronounce, 
Upon my knee I beg, go not to arms 
Against mine uncle. 

Constance. O, upon my knee, 

Made hard with kneeling, I do pray to thee, 310 

Thou virtuous Dauphin, alter not the doom 
Forethought by heaven ! 

Blanch. Now shall I see thy love ; what motive may 
Be stronger with thee than the name of wife ? 

Constance. That which upholdeth him that thee 
upholds, 



70 King John [Act ill 

His honour. — O, thine honour, Lewis, thine hon- 
our ! 
Lewis. I muse your majesty doth seem so cold 
When such profound respects do pull you on. 

Pandulph. I will denounce a curse upon his head. 
King Philip. Thou shalt not need. — England, I will 
fall from thee. 320 

Constance. O fair return of banish 'd majesty ! 
Elinor. O foul revolt of French inconstancy ! 
King John. France, thou shalt rue this hour within 

this hour. 
Bastard. Old Time the clock-setter, that bald sexton 
Time, 
Is it as he will? well then, France shall rue. 

Blanch. The sun 's o'ercast with blood ; fair day, 
adieu ! 
Which is the side that I must go withal ? 
I am with both ; each army hath a hand. 
And in their rage, I having hold of both. 
They whirl asunder and dismember me. 330 

Husband, I cannot pray that thou mayst win ; 
Uncle, I needs must pray that thou mayst lose ; 
Father, I may not wish the fortune thine ; 
Grandam, I will not wish thy wishes thrive 
W^hoever wins, on that side shall I lose, 
Assured loss before the match be play'd. 
Lewis. Lady, with me, with me thy fortune lies. 
Blanch. There where my fortune lives, there my life 
dies. 



Scene II] King John 71 

King John. Cousin, go draw our puissance together. — 

\Exit Bastard. 
France, I am burn'd up with inflaming wrath ; 340 

A rage whose heat hath this condition, 
That nothing can allay, nothing but blood, 
The blood, and dearest-valued blood, of France. 

King Philip. Thy rage shall burn thee up, and thou 
shalt turn 
To ashes, ere our blood shall quench that fire ; 
Look to thyself, thou art in jeopardy. 

King John. No more than he that threats. — To 
arms let 's hie ! [Exeunt. 

Scene II. The Same. Plains near Anglers 

Alarums^ excursions. Enter the Bastard, with 
Austria's head 

Bastard. Now, by my life, this day grows wondrous 
hot; 
Some airy devil hovers in the sky 
And pours down mischief. — Austria's head lie there, 
While Philip breathes. 

Enter King John, Arthur, and Hubert 

King John, Hubert, keep this boy. — Philip, make 
up; 
My mother is assailed in our tent. 
And ta'en, I fear. 

Bastard. My lord, I rescued her ; 

Her highness is in safety, fear you not. 



72 King John [Act III 

But on, my liege ; for very little pains 

Will bring this labour to an happy end. \_Exeunt. 

Scene III. The Same 

Alarums, excursions, retreat. Enter King John, Eli- 
nor, Arthur, the Bastard, Hubert, and Lords 

King John. \To Elinor'] So shall it be ; your grace 
shall stay behind 
So strongly guarded. — \_To Arthur] Cousin, look not 

sad ; 
Thy grandam loves thee, and thy uncle will 
As dear be to thee as thy father was. 

Arthur. O, this will make my mother die with grief ! 
King John. [To the Bastard] Cousin, away for Eng- 
land ! haste before ; 
And, ere our coming, see thou shake the bags 
Of hoarding abbots. Set at liberty 
Imprisoned angels ; the fat ribs of peace 
Must by the hungry now be fed upon, lo 

Use our commission in his utmost force. 

Bastard. Bell, book, and candle shall not drive me 
back 
When gold and silver becks me to come on. 
I leave your highness. — Grandam, I will pray, 
If ever I remember to be holy. 
For your fair safety ; so, I kiss your hand. 
Elinor. Farewell, gentle cousin. 
King John. Coz, farewell. \Exit Bastard. 



Scene III] King John 73 

Eliiior. Come hither, little kinsman ; hark, a word. 

King John. Come hither, Hubert. O my gentle 
Hubert, 
We owe thee much ! within this wall of flesh 20 

There is a soul counts thee her creditor 
And with advantage means to pay thy love ; 
And, my good friend, thy voluntary oath 
Lives in this bosom, dearly cherished. 
Give me thy hand. I had a thing to say, — 
But I will fit it with some better time. 
By heaven, Hubert, I am almost asham'd 
To say what good respect I have of thee. 

Hubei't. I am much bounden to your majesty. 

King John, Good friend, thou hast no cause to say 
so yet 30 

But thou shalt have ; and creep time ne'er so slow, 
Yet it shall come for me to do thee good. 
I had a thing to say, — but let it go. 
The sun is in the heaven, and the proud day. 
Attended with the pleasures of the world, 
Is all too wanton and too full of gawds 
To give me audience. If the midnight bell 
Did, with his iron tongue and brazen mouth, 
Sound on into the drowsy race of night ; 
If this same were a churchyard where we stand, 40 

And thou possessed with a thousand wrongs. 
Or if that surly spirit, melancholy. 
Had bak'd thy blood and made it heavy-thick. 
Which else runs tickling up and down the veins. 



74 King John [Act III 

Making that idiot, laughter, keep men's eyes 

And strain their cheeks to idle merriment, 

A passion hateful to my purposes, 

Or if that thou couldst see me without eyes. 

Hear me without thine ears, and make reply 

Without a tongue, using conceit alone, 50 

Without eyes, ears, and harmful sound of words, 

Then, in despite of brooded watchful day, 

I would into thy bosom pour my thoughts. 

But, ah, I will not ! — yet I love thee well ; 

And, by my troth, I think thou lov'st me well. 

Hubert. So well that what you bid me undertake. 
Though that my death were adjunct to my act, 
By heaven, I would do it ! 

King John. Do not I know thou wouldst ? 

Good Hubert, Hubert, — Hubert, throw thine eye 
On yon young boy. I '11 tell thee what, my friend, 60 
He is a very serpent in my way ; 
And wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth tread 
He lies before me. Dost thou understand me ? 
Thou art his keeper. 

Hubert. And I '11 keep him so 

That he shall not oifend your majesty. 

King John. Death. 

Hubert. My lord ? 

King J oh n . A grave . 

Hubert. He shall not live. 

King John. Enough. 

I could be merry now, Hubert, I love thee ; 



Scene IV] King John 75 

Well, I '11 not say what I intend for thee. 

Remember. — Madam, fare you well ; 

I '11 send those powers o'er to your majesty. 70 

Elinor. My blessing go with thee ! 

King John. For England, cousin, go ; 

Hubert shall be your man, attend on you 
With all true duty. — On toward Calais, ho ! \Exeunt. 

Scene IV. The Same. The French King's Tent 
Enter King Philip, Lewis, Pandulph, and Attendants 

King Philip. So, by a roaring tempest on the flood, 
A whole armado of convicted sail 
Is scatter'd and disjoin'd from fellowship. 

Pandulph. Courage and comfort ! all shall yet go well. 

King Philip. What can go well w^hen we have run 
so ill ? 
Are we not beaten ? Is not Anglers lost ? 
Arthur ta'en prisoner ? divers dear friends slain ? 
And bloody England into England gone, 
O'erbearing interruption, spite of France ? 

Lewis. What he hath won, that hath he fortified ; 10 
So hot a speed with such advice dispos'd, 
Such temperate order in so fierce a cause, 
Doth want example. Who hath read or heard 
Of any kindred action like to this ? 

King Philip. Well could I bear that England had 
this praise. 
So we could find some pattern of our shame. — 



76 King John [Act iii 

Enter Constance 

Look, who comes here ! a grave unto a soul ; 

Holding the eternal spirit, against her will, 

In the vile prison of afflicted breath. — 

I prithee, lady, go away with me. 20 

Constmice. Lo, now! now see the issue of your 
peace. 

King Philip. Patience, good lady ! comfort, gentle 
Constance ! 

Constance. No, I defy all counsel, all redress, 
But that which ends all counsel, true redress. 
Death, death. — O amiable lovely death ! 
Thou odoriferous stench ! sound rottenness ! 
Arise forth from the couch of lasting night, 
Thou hate and terror to prosperity. 
And I will kiss thy detestable bones. 
And put my eyeballs in thy vaulty brows, 30 

And ring these fingers with thy household worms, 
And stop this gap of breath with fulsome dust, 
And be a carrion monster like thyself ! 
Come, grin on me, and I will think thou smil'st, 
And buss thee as thy wife ! Misery's love, 
O come to me ! 

King Philip. O fair affliction, peace ! 

Constance. No, no, I will not, having breath to 
cry. — 
O, that my tongue were in the thunder's mouth ! 
Then with a passion would I shake the world, 



Scene IV] King John 77 

And rouse from sleep that fell anatomy 40 

Which cannot hear a lady's feeble voice, 
Which scorns a modern invocation. 

Pandulph. Lady, you utter madness, and not sorrow. 

Constance. Thou art not holy to belie me so. 
I am not mad : this hair I tear is mine ; 
My name is Constance ; I was Geffrey's wife ; 
Young Arthur is my son, and he is lost ! 
I am not mad ; I would to heaven I were ! 
For then, 't is like I should forget myself ; 
O, if I could, what grief should I forget ! — so 

Preach some philosophy to make me mad, 
And thou shalt be canoniz'd, cardinal ; 
For being not mad but sensible of grief, 
My reasonable part produces reason 
How I may be deliver'd of these woes. 
And teaches me to kill or hang myself. 
If I were mad, I should forget my son, 
Or madly think a babe of clouts were he. 
I am not mad ; too well, too well I feel 
The different plague of each calamity. 60 

King Philip. Bind up those tresses. — O, what love I 
note 
In the fair multitude of those her hairs ! 
Where but by chance a silver drop hath fallen. 
Even to that drop ten thousand wiry friends 
Do glue themselves in sociable grief. 
Like true, inseparable, faithful loves, 
Sticking together in calamity. 



78 King John [Act iii 

Constance. To England, if you will. 

King Philip. Bind up your hairs. 

Constance. Yes, that I will ; and wherefore will I 
do it? 
I tore them from their bonds, and cried aloud, 70 

* O that these hands could so redeem my son 
As they have given these hairs their liberty ! ' 
But now I envy at their liberty, 
And will again commit them to their bonds, 
Because my poor child is a prisoner. — 
And, father cardinal, I have heard you say 
That we shall see and know our friends in heaven : 
If that be true, I shall see my boy again ; 
For since the birth of Cain, the first male child, 
To him that did but yesterday suspire, 80 

There was not such a gracious creature born. 
But now will canker-sorrow eat my bud, 
And chase the native beauty from his cheek, 
And he will look as hollow as a ghost, 
As dim and meagre as an ague's fit. 
And so he '11 die ; and, rising so again, 
When I shall meet him in the court of heaven 
I shall not know him. Therefore never, never 
Must I behold my pretty Arthur more. 

Pandulph. You hold too heinous a respect of grief. 90 

Constance. He talks to me that never had a son. 

King Philip. You are as fond of grief as of your child. 

Constance. Grief fills the room up of my absent child, 
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me. 



Scene IV] King John 79 

Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words, 

Remembers me of all his gracious parts, 

Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form ; 

Then, have I reason to be fond of grief ? 

Fare you well ; had you such a loss as I, 

I could give better comfort than you do. — 100 

I will not keep this form upon my head, 

When there is such disorder in my wit. 

O Lord ! my boy, my Arthur, my fair son ! 

My life, my joy, my food, my all the world! 

My widow-comfort, and my sorrow's cure ! \_Exit. 

King Philip. I fear some outrage, and I '11 follow her. 

\Exit. 

Lewis. There 's nothing in this world can make me 

joy- 
Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale 
Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man ; 
And bitter shame hath spoil'd the sweet world's taste, no 
That it yields nought but shame and bitterness. 

Pandulph. Before the curing of a strong disease, 
Even in the instant of repair and health, 
The fit is strongest ; evils that take leave 
On their departure most of all show evil. 
What have you lost by losing of this day ? 

Lewis. All days of glory, joy, and happiness. 

Pandulph. If you had won it, certainly you had. 
No, no ; when Fortune means to men most good, 
She looks upon them with a threatening eye. 120 

'T is strange to think how much King John hath lost 



8o King John [Act III 

In this which he accounts so clearly won ; 

Are not you griev'd that Arthur is his prisoner ? 

Lewis. As heartily as he is glad he hath him. 

Pandulph. Your mind is all as youthful as your blood. 
Now hear me speak with a prophetic spirit, 
For even the breath of what I mean to speak 
Shall blow each dust, each straw, each little rub, 
Out of the path which shall directly lead 
Thy foot to England's throne ; and therefore mark. 130 
John hath seiz'd Arthur ; and it cannot be 
That, whiles warm life plays in that infant's veins, 
The misplac'd John should entertain an hour, 
One minute, nay, one quiet breath of rest. 
A sceptre snatch 'd with an unruly hand 
Must be as boisterously maintain'd as gain'd ; 
And he that stands upon af slippery place 
Makes nice of no vile hold to stay him up. 
That John may stand, then Arthur needs must fall ^ 
So be it, for it cannot be but so. 140 

Lewis. But what shall I gain by young Arthur's fall ? 

Pandtilph. You, in the right of Lady Blanch your wife. 
May then make all the claim that Arthur did. 

Lewis. And lose it, life and all, as Arthur did. 

Pandulph. How green you are and fresh in this old 
world ! 
John lays you plots ; the times conspire with you, 
For he that steeps his safety in true blood 
Shall find but bloody safety and untrue. 
This act so evilly born shall cool the hearts 



Scene IVJ King John 8 1 

Of all his people and freeze up their zeal, 150 

That none so small advantage shall step forth 

To check his reign but they will cherish it ; 

No natural exhalation in the sky, 

No scope of nature, no distemper'd day, 

No common wind, no customed event, 

But they will pluck away his natural cause 

And call them meteors, prodigies, and signs, 

Abortives, presages, and tongues of heaven. 

Plainly denouncing vengeance upon John. 

Lewis. May be he will not touch young Arthur's life, 
But hold himself safe in his prisonment. 161 

Pandulph. O, sir, when he shall hear of your ap- 
proach. 
If that young Arthur be not gone already. 
Even at that news he dies ; and then the hearts 
Of all his people shall revolt from him, 
And kiss the lips of unacquainted change. 
And pick strong matter of revolt and wrath 
Out of the bloody fingers' ends of John. 
Methinks I see this hurly all on foot ; 
And, O, what better matter breeds for you 170 

Than I have nam'd ! The bastard Faulconbridge 
Is now in England, ransacking the church, 
Offending charity ; if but a dozen French 
Were there in arms, they would be as a call 
To train ten thousand English to their side, 
Or as a little snow, tumbled about. 
Anon becomes a mountain. O noble Dauphin, 

KING JOHN — 6 



82 King John [Act III 

Go with me to the king ; 't is wonderful 

What may be wrought out of their discontent, 

Now that their souls are topfull of offence. i8o 

For England go ; I will whet on the king. 

Lewis. Strong reasons make strong actions ; let us 

go 
If you say ay, the king will not say no. [Exeunt. 




PoMFRET Castle 



ACT IV 

Scene I. A Room in a Castle 

Enter Hubert and tivo Attendants 

Hubert. Heat me these irons hot, and look thou 
stand 
Within the arras ; when I strike my foot 
Upon the bosom of the ground, rush forth 
And bind the boy which you shall find with me 
Fast to the chair. Be heedful ; hence, and watch. 
I Attendant. I hope your warrant will bear out the 

deed. 
Hubert. Uncleanly scruples ! fear not you ; look 
to 't. — 

[Exeunt Attendants. 
Young lad, come forth ; I have to say with you. 

83 



84 King John [Act IV 

Enter Arthur 

Arthur. Good morrow, Hubert. 

Hubert. Good morrow, little prince. 

Arthur. As little prince, having so great a title 10 
To be more prince, as may be. You are sad. 

Hubert. Indeed, I have been merrier. 

Arthur. Mercy on me ! 

Methinks nobody should be sad but I ; 
Yet, I remember, when I was in France, 
Young gentlemen would be as sad as night, 
Only for wantonness. By my Christendom, 
So I were out of prison and kept sheep, 
I should be as merry as the day is long ; 
And so I would be here, but that I doubt 
My uncle practises more harm to me. 20 

He is afraid of me and I of him. 
Is it my fault that I was Geffrey's son ? 
No, indeed, is 't not ; and I would to heaven 
I were your son, so you would love me, Hubert. 

Hubert. [Aside] If I talk to him, with his innocent prate 
He will awake my mercy, which lies dead ; 
Therefore I will be sudden and dispatch. 

Arthur. Are you sick, Hubert ? you look pale to-day. 
In sooth, I would you were a little sick, 
That I might sit all night and watch with you ; 30 

I warrant I love you more than you do me. 

Hubert. [Aside] His words do take possession of my 
bosom. — 
Read here, young Arthur. — [Showing a paper. 



Scene I] King John 85 

[Aside] How now, foolish rheum ! 
Turning dispiteous torture out of door ! 
I must be brief, lest resolution drop 
Out at mine eyes in tender womanish tears. — 
Can you not read it ? is it not fair writ ? 

Arthur. Too fairly, Hubert, for so foul effect. 
Must you with hot irons burn out both mine eyes ? 

Hubert. Young boy, I must. 

Arthur. And will you ? 

Hubert. And I will. 

Arthur. Have you the heart ? When your head did 
but ache 41 

I knit my handkercher about your brows, — 
The best I had, a princess wrought it me, — 
And I did never ask it you again ; 
And with my hand at midnight held your head, 
And, like the watchful minutes to the hour, 
Still and anon cheer'd up the heavy time. 
Saying, ' What lack you ? ' and ' Where lies your grief ? ' 
Or ' What good love may I perform for you ? ' 
Many a poor man's son would have lien still 50 

And ne'er have spoke a loving word to you. 
But you at your sick service had a prince. 
Nay, you may think my love was crafty love 
And call it cunning. Do, an if you will. 
If heaven be pleas'd that you must use me ill, 
Why then you must. Will you put out mine eyes ? 
These eyes that never did nor never shall 
So much as frown on you. 



86 King John [Act IV 

Hubert. I have sworn to do it, 

And with hot irons must I burn them out. 

Arthur. Ah, none but in this iron age would do it ! 
The iron of itself, though heat red-hot, 6i 

Approaching near these eyes, would drink my tears 
And quench his fiery indignation 
Even in the matter of mine innocence, 
Nay, after that, consume away in rust, 
But for containing fire to harm mine eye. 
Are you more stubborn-hard than hammer 'd iron ? 
An if an angel should have come to me 
And told me Hubert should put out mine eyes, 
I would not have believ'd him, — no tongue but 
Hubert's. 70 

Hubert. Come forth. \Stamps. 

Re-enter Attendants, with a cord, ironSy etc. 

Do as I bid you do. 

Arthur. O, save me, Hubert, save me ! my eyes are 
out 
Even with the fierce looks of these bloody men. 

Hubert. Give me the iron, I say, and bind him here. 

Arthur. Alas, what need you be so boisterous-rough ? 
I will not struggle, I will stand stone-still. 
For heaven sake, Hubert, let me not be bound 1 
Nay, hear me, Hubert, drive these men away. 
And I will sit as quiet as a lamb ; 80 

I will not stir, nor wince, nor speak a word. 
Nor look upon the iron angerly. 



Scene I] King John 87 

Thrust but these men away, and I '11 forgive you, 
Whatever torment you do put me to. 

Hubert. Go, stand within ; let me alone with him. 

I Attendant. I am best pleas 'd to be from such a 
deed. \_Exeunt Attendants. 

Arthur. Alas, I then have chid away my friend ! 
He hath a stern look, but a gentle heart ; 
Let him come back, that his compassion may 
Give life to yours. 

Hubert. Come, boy, prepare yourself. 90 

Arthur. Is there no remedy ? 

Hubert. None, but to lose your eyes. 

Arthur. O heaven, that there were but a mote in yours, 
A grain, a dust, a gnat, a wandering hair, 
Any annoyance in that precious sense ! 
Then feeling what small things are boisterous there. 
Your vile intent must needs seem horrible. 

Hubert. Is this your promise ? go to, hold your tongue. 

Arthur. Hubert, the utterance of a brace of tongues 
Must needs want pleading for a pair of eyes. 
Let me not hold my tongue, let me not, Hubert ; 100 
Or, Hubert, if you will, cut out my tongue. 
So I may keep mine eyes. O, spare mine eyes, 
Though to no use but still to look on you ! 
Lo, by my troth, the instrument is cold 
And would not harm me. 

Hubert. I can heat it, boy. 

Arthur. No, in good sooth ; the fire is dead with grief, 
Being create for comfort, to be us'd 



88 King John [Act iv 

In undeserv'd extremes. See else yourself ; 

There is no malice in this burning coal, 

The breath of heaven has blown his spirit out no 

And strew'd repentant ashes on his head. 

Hubert. But with my breath I can revive it, boy. 

Arthur. An if you do, you will but make it blush 
And glow with shame of your proceedings, Hubert ; 
Nay, it perchance will sparkle in your eyes, 
And, like a dog that is compell'd to fight. 
Snatch at his master that doth tarre him on. 
All things that you should use to do me wrong 
Deny their office ; only you do lack 
That mercy which fierce fire and iron extends, 120 

Creatures of note for mercy-lacking uses. 

Hubert. Well, see to live ; I will not touch thine eye 
For all the treasure that thine uncle owes. 
Yet am I sworn, and I did purpose, boy. 
With this same very iron to burn them out. 

Arthur. O, now you look like Hubert ! all this while 
You were disguised. 

Hubert. Peace ! no more. Adieu. 

Your uncle must not know but you are dead. 
I '11 fill these dogged spies with false reports ; 
And, pretty child, sleep doubtless and secure 130 

That Hubert, for the wealth of all the world, 
Will not offend thee. 

Arthur. O heaven ! I thank you, Hubert. 

Hubert. Silence ! no more. Go closely in with me ; 
Much danger do I undergo for thee. \Exeunt. 



Scene II] King John 89 

Scene II. King John^s Palace 

Enter King John, Pembroke, Salisbury, and other 

Lords 

King John. Here once again we sit, once again 
crown'd, 
And look'd upon, I hope, with cheerful eyes. 

Pembroke. This once again, but that your highness 
pleas'd, 
Was once superfluous. You were crown'd before, 
And that high royalty was ne'er pluck'd off, 
The faiths of men ne'er stained with revolt ; 
Fresh expectation troubled not the land 
With any long'd-for change or better state. 

Salisbury. Therefore, to be possess 'd with double 
pomp. 
To guard a title that was rich before, 10 

To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, 
To throw a perfume on the violet. 
To smooth the ice, or add another hue 
Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light 
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish, 
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess. 

Pembroke. But that your royal pleasure must be done, 
This act is as an ancient tale new told. 
And in the last repeating troublesome. 
Being urged at a time unseasonable. 20 

Salisbury. In this the antique and well noted face 
Of plain old form is much disfigured ; 



90 King John [Act IV 

And, like a shifted wind unto a sail, 

It makes the course of thoughts to fetch about, 

Startles and frights consideration, 

Makes sound opinion sick and truth suspected. 

For putting on so new a fashion 'd robe. 

Pembroke. When workmen strive to do better than 
well, 
They do confound their skill in covetousness ; 
And oftentimes excusing of a fault 30 

Doth make the fault the worse by the excuse, — 
As patches set upon a little breach 
Discredit more in hiding of the fault 
Than did the fault before it was so patch 'd. 

Salisbury. To this effect, before you were new crown'd. 
We breath'd our counsel ; but it pleas 'd your highness 
To overbear it, and we are all well pleas 'd. 
Since all and every part of what we would 
Doth make a stand at what your highness will. 

King John. Some reasons of this double coronation 
I have possess 'd you with and think them strong ; 41 
And more, more strong, when lesser is my fear, 
I shall indue you with, meantime but ask 
What you would have reform'd that is not well. 
And well shall you perceive how willingly 
I will both hear and grant you your requests. 

Pembroke. Then I — as one that am the tongue of 
these. 
To sound the purposes of all their hearts. 
Both for myself and them, but, chief of all, 



Scene 11] King John 9 1 

Your safety, for the which myself and them 50 

Bend their best studies — heartily request 

The enfranchisement of Arthur, whose restraint 

Doth move the murmuring lips of discontent 

To break into this dangerous argument, — 

If what in rest you have in right you hold. 

Why then your fears, which, as they say, attend 

The steps of wrong, should move you to mew up 

Your tender kinsman, and to choke his days 

With barbaroLts ignorance, and deny his youth 

The rich advantage of good exercise ? 60 

That the time's enemies may not have this 

To grace occasions, let it be our suit ^ 

That you have bid us ask his liberty, 

Which for our goods we do no further ask 

Than whereupon our weal, on you depending, 

Counts it your weal he have his liberty. 

Enter Hubert 

King John. Let it be so ; I do commit his youth 
To your direction. — Hubert, what news with you ? 

\Taking him apart. 

Pembroke. This is the man should do the bloody 
deed; 
He show'd his warrant to a friend of mine. 70 

The image of a wicked heinous fault 
Lives in his eye ; that close aspect of his 
Does show the mood of a much troubled breast, 
And I do fearfully believe 't is done, 



92 King John [Act iv 

What we so fear'd he had a charge to do. 

Salisbury. The colour of the king doth come and go 
Between his purpose and his conscience, 
Like heralds 'twixt two dreadful battles set ; 
His passion is so ripe, it needs must break. 

Pembroke. And when it breaks, I fear will issue 
thence 80 

The foul corruption of a sweet child's death. 

King John. We cannot hold mortality's strong 
hand. — 
Good lords, although my will to give is living. 
The suit which you demand is gone and dead ; 
He tells us Arthur is deceas'd to-night. 

Salisbury. Indeed we fear'd his sickness was past cure. 

Pembroke. Indeed we heard how near his death he 
was 
Before the child himself felt he was sick. 
This must be answer'd either here or hence. 

King John. Why do you bend such solemn brows 
on me? 90 

Think you I bear the shears of destiny ? 
Have I commandment on the pulse of life ? 

Salisbury. It is apparent foul play ; and 't is shame 
That greatness should so grossly offer it. 
So thrive it in your game ! and so, farewell. 

Pembfvke. Stay yet. Lord Salisbury ; I '11 go with 
thee, 
And find the inheritance of this poor child. 
His little kingdom of a forced grave. 



Scene II] King John 93 

That blood which owed the breadth of all this isle, 
Three foot of it doth hold ; bad world the while ! 100 
This must not be thus borne ; this will break out 
To all our sorrows, and ere long I doubt. 

[Exeunt Lords. 
King John. They burn in indignation. I repent ; 
There is no sure foundation set on blood, 
No certain life achiev'd by others' death. — 

Enter a Messenger 

A fearful eye thou hast ; where is that blood 

That I have seen inhabit in those cheeks ? 

So foul a sky clears not without a storm ; 

Pour down thy weather. — How goes all in France ? 

Messenger. From France to England. Never such 
a power no 

For any foreign preparation 
Was levied in the body of a land. 
The copy of your speed is learn'd by them ; 
For when you should be told they do prepare, 
The tidings comes that they are all arriv'd. 

King John. O, where hath our intelligence been 
drunk ? 
Where hath it slept ? Where is my mother's care, 
That such an army could be drawn in France 
And she not hear of it ? 

Messenger. My liege, her ear 

Is stopp'd with dust ; the first of April died 120 

Your noble mother ; and, as I hear, my lord, 



94 King John [Act iv 

The Lady Constance in a frenzy died 

Three days before. But this from rumour's tongue 

I idly heard ; if true or false I know not. 

Kiiig John. Withhold thy speed, dreadful Occa- 
sion ! 
O, make a league with me, till I have pleas 'd 
My discontented peers ! — What ! mother dead ! 
How wildly then walks my estate in France ! — 
Under whose conduct came those powers of France 
That thou for truth giv'st out are landed here ? 130 

Messenger. Under the Dauphin. 

King John. Thou hast made me giddy 

With these ill tidings. — 

Enter the Bastard and Peter of Pomfret 

Now, what says the world 
To your proceedings ? do not seek to stuff 
My head with more ill news, for it is full. 

Bastard. But if you be afeard to hear the worst. 
Then let the worst unheard fall on your head. 

King John. Bear with me, cousin, for I was amaz'd 
Under the tide ; but now I breathe again 
Aloft the flood and can give audience 
To any tongue, speak it of what it will. 140 

Bastard. How I have sped among the clergymen, 
The sums I have collected shall express. 
But as I travell'd hither through the land, 
I find the people strangely fantasied, 
Possess'd with rumours, full of idle dreams, 



Scene II] King John 95 

Not knowing what they fear, but full of fear ; 

And here 's a prophet, that I brought with me 

From forth the streets of Pomfret, whom I found 

With many hundreds treading on his heels, 

To whom he sung, in rude harsh-sounding rhymes, 150 

That, ere the next Ascension-day at noon, 

Your highness should deliver up your crown. 

King John. Thou idle dreamer, wherefore didst thou 
so? 

Peter. Foreknowing that the truth will fall out so. 

King John. Hubert, away with him ; imprison him, 
And on that day at noon, whereon he says 
I shall yield up my crown, let him be hang'd. 
Deliver him to safety and return. 
For I must use thee. — \^Exit Hubert with Peter. 

O my gentle cousin, 
Hear'st thou the news abroad, who are arriv'd ? 160 

Bastard. The French, my lord ; men's mouths are 
full of it. 
Besides, I met Lord Bigot and Lord Salisbury, 
With eyes as red as new-enkindled fire. 
And others more, going to seek the grave 
Of Arthur, whom they say is kill'd to-night 
On your suggestion. 

King John. Gentle kinsman, go. 

And thrust thyself into their companies. 
I have a way to win their loves again ; 
Bring them before me. 

Bastard. I will seek them out. 



96 King John [Act IV 

King John. Nay, but make haste ; the better foot 
before. — 170 

O, let me have no subject enemies, 
When adverse foreigners affright my towns 
With dreadful pomp of stout invasion ! — 
Be Mercury, set feathers to thy heels, 
And fly like thought from them to me again. 

Bastard. The spirit of the time shall teach me speed. 

\^Exit. 

King John. Spoke like a sprightful noble gentle- 
man. — 
Go after him ; for he perhaps shall need 
Some messenger betwixt me and the peers, 
And be thou he. 

Messenger. With all my heart, my liege. \Exit. 

King John. My mother dead ! 181 

Re-enter Hubert 

Hubert. My lord, they say five moons were seen to- 
night ; 
Four fixed, and the fifth did whirl about 
The other four in wondrous motion. 

King John. Five moons ! 

Hubert. Old men and beldams in the streets 

Do prophesy upon it dangerously. 
Young Arthur's death is common in their mouths : 
And when they talk of him, they shake their heads 
And whisper one another in the ear ; 
And he that speaks doth gripe the hearer's wrist, 190 



Scene II] King John 97 

Whilst he that hears makes fearful action, 

With wrinkled brows, with nods, with rolling eyes, 

I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus, 

The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool. 

With open mouth swallowing a tailor's news. 

Who, with his shears and measure in his hand. 

Standing on slippers, which his nimble haste 

Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet, 

Told of a many thousand warlike French 

That were embattailed and rank'd in Kent. 200 

Another lean unwash'd artificer 

Cuts off his tale and talks of Arthur's death. 

King John. Why seek'st thou to possess me with these 
fears ? 
Wliy urgest thou so oft young Arthur's death ? 
Thy hand hath murther'd him ; I had a mighty cause 
To wish him dead, but thou hadst none to kill him. 

Hubert. No had, my lord ! why, did you not provoke 
me ? 

King John. It is the curse of kings to be attended 
By slaves that take their humours for a warrant 
To break within the bloody house of life, 210 

And on the winking of authority 
To understand a law, to know the meaning 
Of dangerous majesty, when perchance it frowns 
More upon humour than advis'd respect. 

Hubert. Here is your hand and seal for what I did. 

King John. O, when the last account 'twixt heaven 
and earth 
KING JOHN — 7 



98 King John [Act iv 

Is to be made, then shall this hand and seal 

Witness against us to damnation ! 

How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds 

Make deeds ill done ! Hadst not thou been by, 220 

A fellow by the hand of nature mark'd. 

Quoted, and sign'd to do a deed of shame, 

This murther had not come into my mind ; 

But taking note of thy abhorr'd aspect, 

Finding thee fit for bloody villany, 

Apt, liable to be employ'd in danger, 

I faintly broke with thee of Arthur's death, 

And thou, to be endeared to a king. 

Made it no conscience to destroy a prince. 

Hubert. My lord, — 230 

King John. Hadst thou but shook thy head or made 
a pause 
When I spake darkly what I purposed. 
Or turn'd an eye of doubt upon my face. 
As bid me tell my tale in express words, 
Deep shame had struck me dumb, made me break off. 
And those thy fears might have wrought fears in me ; 
But thou didst understand me by my signs, 
And didst in signs again parley with sin, 
Yea, without stop, didst let thy heart consent, 
And consequently thy rude hand to act 240 

The deed which both our tongues held vile to name. 
Out of my sight, and never see me more ! 
My nobles leave me, and my state is brav'd. 
Even at my gates, with ranks of foreign powers ; 



Scene II] King John 99 

Nay, in the body of this fleshly land, 

This kingdom, this confine of blood and breath, 

Hostility and civil tumult reigns 

Between my conscience and my cousin's death. 

Hubert. Arm you against your other enemies, 
I '11 make a peace between your soul and you. 250 

Young Arthur is alive ; this hand of mine 
Is yet a maiden and an innocent hand, 
Not painted with the crimson spots of blood. 
Within this bosom never enter'd yet 
The dreadful motion of a murtherous thought ; 
And you have slander 'd nature in my form, 
Which, howsoever rude exteriorly, 
Is yet the cover of a fairer mind 
Than to be butcher of an innocent child. 

King John. Doth Arthur live ? O, haste thee to the 
peers, 260 

Throw this report on their incensed rage, 
And make them tame to their obedience ! 
Forgive the comment that my passion made 
Upon thy feature ; for my rage was blind. 
And foul imaginary eyes of blood 
Presented thee more hideous than thou art. 
O, answer not, but to my closet bring 
The angry lords with all expedient haste. 
I conjure thee but slowly ; run more fast. \_Exeunt. 

tOFC. 



100 King John [Act iv 

Scene III. Before the Castle 

Enter Arthur, on the walls 

Arthur. The wall is high, and yet will I leap down. — 
Good ground, be pitiful and hurt me not ! — 
There 's few or none do know me ; if they did, 
This ship-boy's semblance hath disguis'd me quite. 
I am afraid ; and yet I '11 venture it. 
If I get down, and do not break my limbs, 
I '11 find a thousand shifts to get away ; 
As good to die and go, as die and stay. \Leaps down. 
O me ! my uncle's spirit is in these stones. — 
Heaven take my soul, and England keep my bones ! lo 

\pies. 

Enter Pembroke, Salisbury, and Bigot 

Salisbury. Lords, I will meet him at Saint Edmunds- 
bury ; 
It is our safety, and we must embrace 
This gentle offer of the perilous time. 

Pembroke. Who brought that letter from the cardi- 
nal? 

Salisbwy. The Count Melun, a noble lord of France, 
Whose private with me of the Dauphin's love 
Is much more general than these lines import. 

Bigot. To-morrow morning let us meet him then. 

Salisbury. Or rather then set forward ; for 't will be 
Two long days' journey, lords, or ere we meet. 20 



Scene III] King John 101 

Enter the Bastard 

Bastard. Once more to-day well met, distemper'd 
lords ! 
The king by me requests your presence straight. 

Salisbury. The king hath dispossess 'd himself of us. 
We will not line his thin bestained cloak 
With our pure honours, nor attend the foot 
That leaves the print of blood where'er it walks. 
Return and tell him so ; we know the worst. 
Bastard. Whate'er you think, good words, I think, 

were best. 
Salisbury. Our griefs, and not our manners, reason 

now. 
Bastard. But there is little reason in your grief ; 30 
Therefore 't were reason you had manners now. 
Pembroke. Sir, sir, impatience hath his privilege. 
Bastard. 'T is true, to hurt his master, no man else. 
Salisbury. This is the prison. What is he lies here ? 

\Seeing Arthur. 
Pembroke. O death, made proud with pure and 
princely beauty ! 
The earth had not a hole to hide this deed. 

Salisbury. Murther, as hating what himself hath done, 
Doth lay it open to urge on revenge. 

Bigot. Or, when he doom'd this beauty to a grave. 
Found it too precious-princely for a grave. 40 

Salisbury. Sir Richard, what think you ? have you 
beheld, 



I02 King John [Act iv 

Or have you read or heard ? or could you think ? 

Or do you almost think, although you see, 

That you do see ? could thought, without this object, 

Form such another ? This is the very top. 

The height, the crest, or crest unto the crest, 

Of murther's arms ; this is the bloodiest shame, 

The wildest savagery, the vilest stroke, 

That ever wall-eyed wrath or staring rage 

Presented to the tears of soft remorse. 50 

Pembroke. All murthers past do stand excus'd in this ; 
And this, so sole and so unmatchable, 
Shall give a holiness, a purity, 
To the yet unbegotten sin of times. 
And prove a deadly bloodshed but a jest, 
Exampled by this heinous spectacle. 

Bastard. It is a damned and a bloody work ; 
The graceless action of a heavy hand. 
If that it be the work of any hand. 

Salisbury. If that it be the work of any hand ! 60 

We had a kind of light what would ensue. 
It is the shameful work of Hubert's hand, 
The practice and the purpose of the king, 
From whose obedience I forbid my soul, 
Kneeling before this ruin of sweet life. 
And breathing to his breathless excellence 
The incense of a vow, a holy vow, 
Never to taste the pleasures of the world, 
Never to be infected with delight. 
Nor conversant with ease and idleness, 70 



Scene III] King John 103 

Till I have set a glory to this hand 

By giving it the worship of revenge. 

Pcttibfokc / 

\ Our souls relisfiously confirm thy words. 
Bigot ) t, y y 

Enter Hubert 

Hubert. Lords, I am hot with haste in seeking you. 
Arthur doth live ; the king hath sent for you. 

Salisbury. O, he is bold and blushes not at death. — 
A vaunt, thou hateful villain, get thee gone ! 

Hubert. I am no villain. 

Salisbufy. Must I rob the law ? 

[Drawing his sword. 

Bastard. Your sword is bright, sir ; put it up again. 

Salisbury. Not till I sheathe it in a murtherer's skin. 

Hubert. Stand back. Lord Salisbury, stand back, I 
say ; 81 

By heaven, I think my sword 's as sharp as yours. 
I would not have you, lord, forget yourself, 
Nor tempt the danger of my true defence ; 
Lest I, by marking of your rage, forget 
Your worth, your greatness, and nobility. 

Bigot. Out, dunghill ! dar'st thou brave a nobleman ? 

Hubert. Not for my life ; but yet I dare defend 
My innocent life against an emperor. 89 

Salisbury. Thou art a murtherer. 

Hubert. Do not prove me so. 

Yet I am none. Whose tongue soe'er speaks false, 
Not truly speaks ; who speaks not truly, lies. 

Pembroke. Cut him to pieces. 



I04 King John [Act iv 

Bastard, Keep the peace, I say. 

Salisbury. Stand by, or I shall gall you, Faulcon- 
bridge. 

Bastard. Thou wert better gall the devil, Salisbury ; 
If thou but frown on me, or stir thy foot, 
Or teach thy hasty spleen to do me shame, 
I '11 strike thee dead. Put up thy sword betime ; 
Or I '11 so maul you and your toasting-iron 
That you shall think the devil is come from hell. loo 

Bigot. What wilt thou do, renowned Faulconbridge ? 
Second a villain and al murtherer ? 

Hubert. Lord Bigot, I am none. 

Bigot. Who kill'd this prince ? 

Hubert. 'T is not an hour since I left him well ; 
I honour 'd him, I lov'd him, and will weep 
My date of life out for his sweet life's loss. 

Salisbury. Trust not those cunning waters of his eyes, 
For villany is not without such rheum ; 
And he, long traded in it, makes it seem 
Like rivers of remorse and innocency. no 

Away with me, all you whose souls abhor 
The uncleanly savours of a slaughter-house, 
For I am stifled with this smell of sin. 

Bigot. Away toward Bury, to the Dauphin there ! 

Pembroke. There tell the king he may inquire us out. 

\Exeunt Lords, 

Bastard. Here 's a good world ! — Knew you of this 
fair work? 
Beyond the infinite and boundless reach 



Scene III] King John 105 

Of mercy, if thou didst this deed of death, 
Art thou damn'd, Hubert. 

Hubert. Do but hear me, sir. 

Bastard. Ha ! I '11 tell thee what ; 120 

Thou 'rt damn'd as black — nay, nothing is so black ; 
Thou art more deep damn'd than Prince Lucifer ; 
There is not yet so ugly a fiend of hell 
As thou shalt be, if thou didst kill this child. 

Hubert. Upon my soul — 

Bastard. If thou didst but consent 

To this most cruel act, do but despair ; 
And if thou want'st a cord, the smallest thread 
That ever spider twisted from her womb 
Will serve to strangle thee ; a rush will be a beam 
To hang thee on ; or wouldst thou drown thyself, 130 
Put but a little water in a spoon. 
And it shall be as all the ocean, 
Enough to stifle such a villain up. 
I do suspect thee very grievously. 

Hubert. If I in act, consent, or sin of thought. 
Be guilty of the stealing that sweet breath 
Which was embounded in this beauteous clay. 
Let hell want pains enough to torture me ! 
I left him well. 

Bastard. Go, bear him in thine arms. 

I am amaz'd, methinks, and lose my way 140 

Among the thorns and dangers of this world. 
How easy dost thou take all England up 1 
From forth this morsel of dead royalty. 



io6 King John [Act iv 

The life, the right, and truth of all this realm 

Is fled to heaven ; and England now is left 

To tug and scamble and to part by the teeth 

The unowed interest of proud-swelling state. 

Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty 

Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest, 

And snarleth in the gentle eyes of peace ; 150 

Now powers from home and discontents at home 

Meet in one line ; and vast confusion waits, 

As doth a raven on a sick-fallen beast, 

The imminent decay of wrested pomp. 

Now happy he whose cloak and cincture can 

Hold out this tempest. — Bear away that child 

And follow me with speed ; I '11 to the king. 

A thousand businesses are brief in hand, 

And heaven itself doth frown upon the land. \£xeun^. 




St. Edmundsbury 



ACT V 

Scene I. KingJohrCs Palace 
Enter King John, Pandulph, and Attendants 

King John. Thus have I yielded up into your hand 
The circle of my glory. [ Giving the crown. 

Pandulph. Take again 

From this my hand, as holding of the pope 
Your sovereign greatness and authority. 

King John. Now keep your holy word ; go meet the 
French, 
And from his holiness use all your power 
To stop their marches fore we are inflam'd. 
Our discontented counties do revolt ; 
Our people quarrel with obedience, 

107 



io8 King John [Act V 

Swearing allegiance and the love of soul lo 

To stranger blood, to foreign royalty. 

This inundation of mistemper'd humour 

Rests by you only to be qualified. 

Then pause not, for the present time 's so sick 

That present medicine must be minister'd, 

Or overthrow incurable ensues. 

Pandulph. It was my breath that blew this tempest 
up, 
Upon your stubborn usage of the pope ; 
But since you are a gentle convertite, 
My tongue shall hush again this storm of war, 20 

And make fair weather in your blustering land. 
On this Ascension-day, remember well. 
Upon your oath of service to the pope. 
Go I to make the French lay down their arms. \Exif. 

King John. Is this Ascension-day? Did not the 
prophet 
Say that before Ascension-day at noon 
My crown I should give off ? Even so I have. 
I did suppose it should be on constraint. 
But, heaven be thank'd, it is but voluntary. 

Enter the Bastard 

Bastard. All Kent hath yielded ; nothing there holds 
out 30 

But Dover castle. London hath receiv'd, 
Like a kind host, the Dauphin and his powers. 
Your nobles will not hear you, but are gone 



Scene I] King John 109 

To offer service to your enemy, 

And wild amazement hurries up and down 

The little number of your doubtful friends. 

King John. Would not my lords return to me again 
After they heard young Arthur was alive ? 

Bastard. They found him dead and cast into the 
streets, 
An empty casket, where the jewel of life 40 

By some damn'd hand was robb'd and ta'en away. 

King John. That villain Hubert told me he did live. 

Bastard. So, on my soul, he did, for aught he knew. 
But wherefore do you droop ? why look you sad ? 
Be great in act, as you have been in thought ; 
Let not the world see fear and sad distrust 
Govern the motion of a kingly eye. 
Be stirring as the time ; be fire with fire ; 
Threaten the threatener and outface the brow 
Of bragging horror ; so shall inferior eyes, . 50 

That borrow their behaviours from the great, 
Grow great by your example and put on 
The dauntless spirit of resolution. 
Away, and glister like the god of war 
When he intendeth to become the field ; 
Show boldness and aspiring confidence. 
What, shall they seek the lion in his den. 
And fright him there ? and make him tremble there 
O, let it not be said ; forage, and run 
To meet displeasure farther from the doors, 60 

And grapple with him ere he comes so nigh. 



no King John [Act V 

King John. The legate of the pope hath been with me 
And I have made a happy peace with him, 
And he hath promis'd to dismiss the powers 
Led by the Dauphin. 

Bastard. O inglorious league ! 

Shall we, upon the footing of our land, 
Send fair-play orders and make compromise, 
Insinuation, parley, and base truce 
To arms invasive ? shall a beardless boy, 
A cocker'd silken wanton, brave our fields, 70 

And flesh his spirit in a warlike soil. 
Mocking the air with colours idly spread, 
And find no check ? Let us, my liege, to arms. 
Perchance the cardinal cannot make your peace ; 
Or if he do, let it at least be said 
They saw we had a purpose of defence. 

King John. Have thou the ordering of this present 
time. 

Bastard. Away, then, with good courage ! yet, I know. 
Our party may well meet a prouder foe. \Exeunt. 

Scene II. The Dauphin's Camp at St. Edmundsbury 

Enter, in arms, Lewis, Salisbury, Melun, Pembroke. 
Bigot, and Soldiers 

Lewis. My Lord Melun, let this be copied out, 
And keep it safe for our remembrance. 
Return the precedent to these lords again ; 
That, having our fair order written down, 



Scene II] King John in 

Both they and we, perusing o'er these notes, 
May know wherefore we took the sacrament, 
And keep our faiths firm and inviolable. 

Salisbury, Upon our sides it never shall be broken. 
And, noble Dauphin, albeit we swear 
A voluntary zeal and an unurg'd faith lo 

To your proceedings, yet, believe me, prince, 
I am not glad that such a sore of time 
Should seek a plaster by contemn 'd revolt, 
And heal the inveterate canker of one wound 
By making many. O, it grieves my soul. 
That I must draw this metal from my side 
To be a widow-maker ! O, and there 
Where honourable rescue and defence 
Cries out upon the name of Salisbury ! 
But such is the infection of the time 20 

That, for the health and physic of our right, 
We cannot deal but with the very hand 
Of stern injustice and confused wrong. — 
And is 't not pity, O my grieved friends. 
That we, the sons and children of this isle, 
Were born to see so sad an hour as this, 
Wherein we step after a stranger march 
Upon her gentle bosom, and fill up 
Her enemies' ranks, — I must withdraw and weep 
Upon the spot of this enforced cause, — 30 

To grace the gentry of a land remote, 
And follow unacquainted colours here ? 
What, here ? O nation, that thou couldst remove I 



112 King John [Act v 

That Neptune's arms, who clippeth thee about, 

Would bear thee from the knowledge of thyself. 

And grapple thee unto a pagan shore. 

Where these two Christian armies might combine 

The blood of malice in a vein of league, 

And not to spend it so unneighbourly ! 

Lewis. A noble temper dost thou show in this ; 40 
And great affections wrestling in thy bosom 
Doth make an earthquake of nobility. 
O, what a noble combat hast thou fought 
Between compulsion and a brave respect ! 
Let me wipe off this honourable dew 
That silverly doth progress on thy cheeks. 
My heart hath melted at a lady's tears. 
Being an ordinary inundation ; 
But this effusion of such manly drops. 
This shower, blown up by tempest of the soul, 50 

Startles mine eyes, and makes me more amaz'd 
Than had I seen the vaulty top of heaven 
Figur'd quite o'er with burning meteors. 
Lift up thy brow, renowned Salisbury, 
And with a great heart heave away this storm ; 
Commend these waters to those baby eyes 
That never saw the giant world enrag'd. 
Nor met with fortune other than at feasts. 
Full of warm blood, of mirth, of gossiping. 
Come, come ; for thou shalt thrust thy hand as deep 60 
Into the purse of rich prosperity 
As Lewis himself ; — so, nobles, shall you all 



Scene II] King John II 3 

That knit your sinews to the strength of mine. — 
And even there, methinks, an angel spake ; 

Enter Pandulph 
Look, where the holy legate comes apace. 
To give us warrant from the hand of heaven, 
And on our actions set the name of right 
With holy breath. 

Pandulph. Hail, noble prince of France ! 

The next is this : King John hath reconcil'd 
Himself to Rome ; his spirit is come in 70 

That so stood out against the holy church. 
The great metropolis and see of Rome. 
Therefore thy threatening colours now wind up, 
And tame the savage spirit of wild war. 
That, Hke a lion foster'd up at hand. 
It may lie gently at the foot of peace. 
And be no further harmful than in show. 

Lewis. Your grace shall pardon me, I will not back ; 
I am too high-born to be propertied. 
To be a secondary at control, 80 

Or useful serving-man and instrument, 
To any sovereign state throughout the world. 
Your breath first kindled the dead coal of wars 
Between this chastis'd kingdom and myself, 
And brought in matter that should feed this fire ; 
And now 't is far too huge to be blown out 
With that same weak wind which enkindled it. 
You taught me how to know the face of right, 
Acquainted me with interest to this land, 

KING JOHN — 8 



114 King John [Act V 

Yea, thrust this enterprise into my heart ; 90 

And come ye now to tell me John hath made 

His peace with Rome ? What is that peace to me ? 

I, by the honour of my marriage-bed, 

After young Arthur, claim this land for mine ; 

And, now it is half-conquer'd, must I back 

Because that John hath made his peace with Rome ? 

Am I Rome's slave ? What penny hath Rome borne, 

What men provided, what munition sent, 

To underprop this action ? Is 't not I 

That undergo this charge ? who else but I, 100 

And such as to my claim are liable. 

Sweat in this business and maintain this war ? 

Have I not heard these islanders shout out 

* Vive le roi ! ' as I have bank'd their towns ? 

Have I not here the best cards for the game. 

To win this easy match play'd for a crown ? 

And shall I now give o'er the yielded set ? 

No, no, on my soul, it never shall be said. 

Paiidulph. You look but on the outside of this work. 

Lewis, Outside or inside, I will not return no 

Till my attempt so much be glorified 
As to my ample hope was promised 
Before I drew this gallant head of war, 
And cull'd these fiery spirits from the world, 
To outlook conquest and to win renown 
Even in the jaws of danger and of death. — 

{Trumpet sounds. 
What lusty trumpet thus doth summon us ? 



Scene II] » King John II 5 

Enter the Bastard, attended 

Bastard. According to the fair play of the world, 
Let me have audience ; I am sent to speak. — 
My holy lord of Milan, from the king 120 

I come, to learn how you have dealt for him ; 
And, as you answer, I do know the scope 
And warrant limited unto my tongue. 

Pandulph. The Dauphin is too wilful-opposite, 
And will not temporize with my entreaties ; 
He flatly says he '11 not lay down his arms. 

Bastard, By all the blood that ever fury breath 'd, 
The youth says well. Now hear our English king ; 
For thus his royalty doth speak in me. 
He is prepar'd, and reason too he should ; 130 

This apish and unmannerly approach. 
This harness'd masque and unadvised revel. 
This unhair'd sauciness and boyish troops. 
The king doth smile at, and is well prepar'd 
To whip this dwarfish war, these pigmy arms. 
From out the circle of his territories. 
That hand which had the strength, even at your door, 
To cudgel you and make you take the hatch, 
To dive like buckets in concealed wells, 
To crouch in litter of your stable planks, 140 

To lie like pawns lock'd up in chests and trunks. 
To hug with swine, to seek sweet safety out 
In vaults and prisons, and to thrill and shake 
Even at the crying of your nation's crow, 



Ii6 King John [Act v 

Thinking his voice an armed Englishman, — 

Shall that victorious hand be feebled here 

That in your chambers gave you chastisement ? 

No ! know the gallant monarch is in arms, 

And like an eagle o'er his aery towers. 

To souse annoyance that comes near his nest. — 150 

And you degenerate, you ingrate revolts. 

You bloody Neroes, ripping up the womb 

Of your dear mother England, blush for shame ; 

For your own ladies and pale-visag'd maids 

Like Amazons come tripping after drums, 

Their thimbles into armed gauntlets change. 

Their needles to lances, and their gentle hearts 

To fierce and bloody inclination. 

Lewis. There end thy brave, and turn thy face in 
peace ; 
We grant thou canst outscold us. Fare thee well ; 160 
We hold our time too precious to be spent 
With such a brabbler. 

Pandulph. Give me leave to speak. 

Bastard. No, I will speak. 

Lewis. We will attend to neither. 

Strike up the drums ; and let the tongue of war 
Plead for our interest and our being here. 

Bastard. Indeed, your drums, being beaten, will cry 
out ; 
And so shall you, being beaten. Do but start 
An echo with the clamour of thy drum, 
And even at hand a drum is ready brac'd 



Scene III] King John 117 

That shall reverberate all as loud as thine ; 170 

Sound but another, and another shall 

As loud as thine rattle the welkin's ear 

And mock the deep-mouth'd thunder ; for at hand, 

Not trusting to this halting legate here, 

Whom he hath us'd rather for sport than need, 

Is warlike John, and in his forehead sits 

A bare-ribb'd death, whose office is this day 

To feast upon whole thousands of the French. 

Lewis. Strike up our drums, to find this danger out. 

Bastard, And thou shalt find it, Dauphin, do not 
doubt. \Exeu7it. 

Scene III. The Field of Battle 

Alarums. Enter King John and Hubert 

King John. How goes the day with us ? O, tell me, 

Hubert. 
Hubert. Badly, I fear. How fares your majesty ? 
King John. This fever, that hath troubled me so long. 
Lies heavy on me ; O, my heart is sick ! 

. Enter a Messenger 

Messenger. My lord, your valiant kinsman, Faulcon- 
bridge, 
Desires your majesty to leave the field 
And send him word by me which way you go. 
King John. Tell him, toward Swinstead, to the abbey 
there. 



ii8 King John [Act V 

Messenger. Be of good comfort ; for the great supply 
That was expected by the Dauphin here, lo 

Are wrack'd three nights ago on Goodwin Sands. 
This news was brought to Richard but even now ; 
The French fight coldly and retire themselves. 

King John. Ay me ! this tyrant fever burns me up, 
And will not let me welcome this good news. — 
Set on toward Swinstead ; to my litter straight. 
Weakness possesseth me, and I am faint. \Exeunt. 



Scene IV. Another Part of the Field 

Enter Salisbury, Pembroke, and Bigot 

Salisbury. I did not think the king so stor'd with 

friends. 
Pembroke. Up once again ; put spirit in the French. 
If they miscarry, we miscarry too. 

Salisbury. That misbegotten devil, Faulconbridge, 
In spite of spite, alone upholds the day. 

Pembroke. They say King John sore sick hath left 
the field. 

Enter Melun, wounded 

Melun. Lead me to the revolts of England here. 
Salisbury. When we were happy we had other names. 
Pentbroke. It is the Count Melun. 
Salisbury. Wounded to death. 

Melun. Fly, noble English, you are bought and sold ; 
Unthread the rude eye of rebellion, n 



Scene IV] King John 119 

And welcome home again discarded faith. 

Seek out King John and fall before his feet; 

For if the French be lords of this loud day, 

He means to recompense the pains you take 

By cutting off your heads. Thus hath he sworn 

And I with him, and many moe with me, 

Upon the altar at Saint Edmundsbury, 

Even on that altar where we swore to you 

Dear amity and everlasting love. 20 

Salisbury. May this be possible ? may this be true ? 

Melun. Have I not hideous death within my view, 
Retaining but a quantity of life, 
Which bleeds away, even as a form of wax 
Resolveth from his figure 'gainst the fire ? 
What in the world should make me now deceive, 
Since I must lose the use of all deceit ? 
Why should I then be false, since it is true 
That I must die here and live hence by truth ? 
I say again, if Lewis do win the day, 30 

He is forsworn if e'er those eyes of yours 
Behold another day break in the east ; 
But even this night, whose black contagious breath 
Already smokes about the burning crest 
Of the old, feeble, and day-wearied sun. 
Even this ill night, your breathing shall expire, 
Paying the fine of rated treachery 
Even with a treacherous fine of all your lives, 
If Lewis by your assistance win the day. 
Commend me to one Hubert with your king ; 40 



I20 King John [Act V 

The love of him, and this respect besides, 
For that my grandsire was an EngUshman, 
Awakes my conscience to confess all this. 
In lieu whereof, I pray you, bear me hence 
From forth the noise and rumour of the field, 
Where I may think the remnant of my thoughts 
In peace, and part this body and my soul 
With contemplation and devout desires. 

Salisbury. We do believe thee ; and beshrew my soul 
But I do love the favour and the form 50 

Of this most fair occasion, by the which 
We will untread the steps of damned flight, 
And like a bated and retired flood, 
Leaving our rankness and irregular course, 
Stoop low within those bounds we have o'erlook'd, 
And calmly run on in obedience 
Even to our ocean, to our great King John. 
My arm shall give thee help to bear thee hence, 
For I do see the cruel pangs of death 
Right in thine eye. — Away, my friends ! New flight, 60 
And happy newness, that intends old right. 

\_Exeunf, leading off Melun. 

Scene V. The French Camp 

Enter Lewis and his train 

Lewis. The sun of heaven methought was loath to 
set, 
But stay'd and made the western welkin blush, 



Scene V] King John 121 

When English measure backward their own ground 
In faint retire. O, bravely came we off, 
When with a volley of our needless shot, 
After such bloody toil we bid good night, 
And wound our tottering colours clearly up, 
Last in the field, and almost lords of it ! 

Enter a Messenger 

Messenger. Where is my prince, the Dauphin ? 

Lewis. Here ; what news ? 

Messenger. The Count Melun is slain ; the English 
lords 10 

By his persuasion are again fallen off. 
And your supply which you have wish'd so long 
Are cast away and sunk on Goodwin Sands. 

Lewis. Ah, foul shrewd news ! beshrew thy very 
heart ! 
I did not think to be so sad to-night 
As this hath made me. — Who was he that said 
King John did fly an hour or two before 
The stumbling night did part our weary powers ? 

Messenger. Whoever spoke it, it is true, my lord. 

Lewis. Well; keep good quarter and good care to- 
night. 20 
The day shall not be up so soon as I, 
To try the fair adventure of to-morrow. [Exeunt. 



122 King John [Act V 

Scene VI. An Open Place in the Neighbourhood of 
Swinstead Abbey 

Enter the Bastard and Hubert, severally 

Hubert. Who 's there ? speak, ho ! speak quickly, or 
I shoot. 

Bastard. A friend. — What art thou ? 

Hubert. Of the part of England. 

Bastard. Whither dost thou go ? 

Hubert. What 's that to thee ? why may not I demand 
Of thine affairs, as well as thou of mine ? 

Bastard. Hubert, I think? 

Hubert. Thou hast a perfect thought ; 

I will upon all hazards well believe 
Thou art my friend, that know'st my tongue so well. 
Who art thou ? 

Bastard. Who thou wilt ; and if thou please. 

Thou mayst befriend me so much as to think lo 

I come one way of the Plantagenets. 

Hubert. Unkind remembrance ! thou and eyeless 
night 
Have done me shame. — Brave soldier, pardon me 
That any accent breaking from thy tongue 
Should scape the true acquaintance of mine ear. 

Bastard. Come, come ; sans compliment, what news 
abroad ? 

Hubert. Why, here walk I in the black brow of night 
To find you out. 

Bastard. Brief, then ; and what 's the news ? 



Scene VI] King John 123 

Hubert O, my sweet sir, news fitting to the night, 
Black, fearful, comfortless, and horrible. 20 

Bastard. Show me the very wound of this ill news ; 
I am no woman, I '11 not swoon at it. 

Hubert. The king, I fear, is poison 'd by a monk; 
I left him almost speechless, and broke out 
To acquaint you with this evil, that you might 
The better arm you to the sudden time 
Than if you had at leisure known of this. 

Bastard. How did he take it ? who did taste to him ? 

Hubert. A monk, I tell you, a resolved villain, 
Whose bowels suddenly burst out ; the king 30 

Yet speaks, and peradventure may recover. 

Bastard. Who didst thou leave to tend his majesty ? 

Hubert. Why, know you not ? the lords are all come 
back 
And brought Prince Henry in their company, 
At whose request the king hath pardon 'd them. 
And they are all about his majesty. 

Bastard. Withhold thine indignation, mighty heaven. 
And tempt us not to bear above our power ! 
I '11 tell thee, Hubert, half my power this night. 
Passing these flats, are taken by the tide, 40 

These Lincoln Washes have devoured them ; 
Myself, well mounted, hardly have escap'd. 
Away before ; conduct me to the king. 
I doubt he will be dead or ere I come. [Exeunt. 



124 King John [Act V 

Scene VII. The Orchard of Swinstead Abbey 

Enter Prince Henry, Salisbury, and Bigot 

Prince Henry. It is too late ; the life of all his blood 
Is touch 'd corruptibly, and his pure brain, 
Which some suppose the soul's frail dwelling-house, 
Doth by the idle comments that it makes 
Foretell the ending of mortality. 

Enter Pembroke 

Pembroke. His highness yet doth speak, and holds 
belief 
That, being brought into the open air, 
It would allay the burning quality 
Of that fell poison which assaileth him. 

Prince Henry. Let him be brought into the orchard 

here. — lo 

Doth he still rage ? \_Exit Bigot. 

Pembroke. He is more patient 

Than when you left him ; even now he sung. 

Prince Henry. O vanity of sickness ! fierce extremes 
In their continuance will not feel themselves. 
Death, having prey'd upon the outward parts, 
Leaves them insensible, and his siege is now 
Against the mind, the which he pricks and wounds 
With many legions of strange fantasies, 
Which, in their throng and press to that last hold, 
Confound themselves. 'T is strange that death should 
sing. ♦ 20 



Scene VII] King John 125 

I am the cygnet to this pale faint swan 
Who chants a doleful hymn to his own death, 
And from the organ-pipe of frailty sings 
His soul and body to their lasting rest. 

Salisbury. Be of good comfort, prince ; for you are 
born 
To set a form upon that inc|igest 
Which he hath left so shapeless and so rude. 

Enter Attendants, and Bigot, carrying King John in a 

chair 

King John. Ay, marry, now my soul hath elbow-room ; 
It would not out at windows nor at doors. 
There is so hot a summer in my bosom 30 

That all my bowels crumble up to dust ; 
I am a scribbled form, drawn with a pen 
Upon a parchment, and against this fire 
Do I shrink up. 

Prince Henry. How fares your majesty ? 

King John. Poison'd, — ill fare — dead, forsook, cast 
off; 
And none of you will bid the winter come 
To thrust his icy fingers in my maw, 
Nor let my kingdom's rivers take their course 
Through my burn'd bosom, nor entreat the north 
To make his bleak winds kiss my parched lips 40 

And comfort me with cold. I do not ask you much ; 
I beg cold comfort, and you are so strait 
And so ingrateful you deny me that. 



126 King John [Act v 

Prince Henry. O that there were some virtue in my 
tears 
That might relieve you ! 

King John. The salt in them is hot. 

Within me is a hell ; and there the poison 
Is as a fiend confin'd to tyrannize 
On unreprievable condemned blood. 

Enter the Bastard 

Bastard. O, I am scalded with my violent motion 
And spleen of speed to see your majesty ! 50 

King John. O cousin, thou art come to set mine 
eye. 
The tackle of my heart is crack'd and burn'd, 
And all the shrouds wherewith my life should sail 
Are turned to one thread, one little hair ; 
My heart hath one poor string to stay it by 
Which holds but till thy news be uttered. 
And then all this thou seest is but a clod 
And module of confounded royalty. 

Bastard. The Dauphin is preparing hitherward, 
Where heaven He knows how we shall answer him , 60 
For in a night the best part of my power, 
As I upon advantage did remove. 
Were in the Washes all unwarily 
Devoured by the unexpected flood. \The king dies. 

Salisbury. You breathe these dead news in ais dead 
an ear. — 
My liege ! my lord! — But now a king, now thus. 



Scene VII] King John 127 

Prince Henry. Even so must I run on, and even so 
stop. 
What surety of the world, what hope, what stay, 
When this was now a king, and now is clay ? 

Bastard. Art thou gone so ? I do but stay be- 
hind 70 
To do the office for thee of revenge, 
And then my soul shall wait on thee to heaven, 
As it on earth hath been thy servant still. — 
Now, now, you stars that move in your right spheres, 
Where be your powers ? show^ now your mended faiths. 
And instantly return with me again. 
To push destruction and perpetual shame 
Out of the weak door of our fainting land. 
Straight let us seek, or straight we shall be sought ; 
The Dauphin rages at our very heels. 80 

Salisbury. It seems you know not, then, so much 
as we. 
The Cardinal Pandulph is within at rest, 
Who half an hour since came from the Dauphin, 
And brings from him such offers of our peace 
As we with honour and respect may take. 
With purpose presently to leave this war. 

Bastard. He will the rather do it when he sees 
Ourselves well sinewed to our defence. 

Salisbury. Nay, it is in a manner done already ; 
For many carriages he hath dispatch 'd 90 

To the sea-side, and put his cause and quarrel 
To the disposing of the cardinal, 



128 . King John [Act V 

With whom yourself, myself, and other lords, 
If you think meet, this afternoon will post 
To consummate this business happily. 

Bastard. Let it be so. — And you, my noble prince, 
With other princes that may best be spar'd. 
Shall wait upon your father's funeral. 

Prince Henry. At Worcester must his body be in- 
terr'd ; 
For so he will'd it. 

Bastard, Thither shall it then. too 

And happily may your sweet self put on 
The lineal state and glory of the land ! 
To whom, with all submission, on my knee 
I do bequeath my faithful services 
And true subjection everlastingly. 

Salisbury. And the like tender of our love we make, 
To rest without a spot for evermore. 

Prince Henry. I have a kind soul that would give 
you thanks. 
And knows not how to do it but with tears. 

Bastard. O, let us pay the time but needful woe no 
Since it hath been beforehand with our griefs. — 
This England never did, nor never shall, 
Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror, 
But when it first did help to wound itself. 
Now these her princes are come home again. 
Come the three corners of the world in arms. 
And we shall shock them. Nought shall make us rue. 
If England to itself do rest but true. \Exeunt. 



NOTES 




Tents of the Period 

(From Ancient MS.) 



NOTES 



Introduction 

The Metre of the Play. — It should be understood at the 
outset that metre, or the mechanism of verse, is something alto- 
gether distinct from the music of verse. The one is matter of rule, 
the other of taste and feeling. Music is not an absolute necessity 
of verse ; the metrical form is a necessity, being that which con- 
stitutes the verse. 

The plays of Shakespeare (with the exception of rhymed pas- 
sages, and of occasional songs and interludes) are all in unrhymed 
or blank verse ; and the normal form of this blank verse is illus- 
trated by the first line of the present play : " Now, say, Chatillon, 
what would France with us ? " 

This line, it will be seen, consists of ten syllables, with the even 
syllables (2d, 4th, 6th, 8th, and loth) accented, the odd syllables 
(ist, 3d, etc.) being unaccented. Theoretically, it is made up of 

131 



132 Notes 

five y^^/ of two syllables each, with the accent on the second sylla- 
ble. Such a foot is called an ia7nbus (plural, iambuses, or the Latin 
iambi), and the form of verse is called iambic. 

This fundamental law of Shakespeare's verse is subject to certain 
modifications, the most important of which are as follows : — 

1. After the tenth syllable an unaccented syllable (or even two 
such syllables) may be added, forming what is sometimes called a 
female line; as in i. i. 10: "To this fair island and the territories." 
The rhythm is complete with the third syllable of territories, the 
fourth being an extra eleventh syllable. In iv. 2. 162 ("Besides, I 
met Lord Bigot and Lord Salisbury ") we have two extra syllables, 
the rhythm being complete with the first syllable of Salisbury (a 
trisyllable, pronounced Saivlsbury) . 

2. The accent in any part of the verse may be shifted from an 
even to an odd syllable; as in i. i, 9: "Arthur Plantagenet, lays 
most lawful claims : " and 45 : " Come from the country to be judg'd 
by you." In both lines the accent is shifted from the second to 
the first syllable. This change occurs very rarely in the tenth syl- 
lable, and seldom in the fourth ; and it is not allowable in two 
successive accented syllables. 

3. An extra unaccented syllable may occur in any part of the 
line; as in i. i. 9, 18, and 71. In 9 the third syllable of Plan- 
tagenet is superfluous ; in 18 the first syllable of enforce ; and in 71 
the second of being. In line 20 the word so is superfluous. 

4. Any unaccented syllable, occurring in an even place immedi- 
ately before or after an even syllable which is properly accented, is 
reckoned as accented for the purposes of the verse ; as, for instance, 
in lines 4, 5, and 15. In 4 and 5 the last syllable of majesty, and in 
15 that of sovereign, are metrically equivalent to accented sylla- 
bles ; and so with the first syllable of disallow in 16, the last of 
arguments in 36, and of arbitrate in 38. 

5. In many instances in Shakespeare words must be lengthened 
in order to fill out the rhythm : — 

(a) In a large class of words in which e or i is followed by 



Notes 133 

another vowel, the e or i is made a separate syllable ; as ocean 
(see on ii. i. 340 and iv. 3. 132), opinion, soldier, patient (see on 
V. 7. 11), partial, marriage, etc. For instance, i. i. 30 ("Pem- 
broke, look to 't. — Farewell, Chatillon") appears to have only 
nine syllables, but Chatillon (which in line i was a trisyllable) is 
here a quadrisyllable (" Chatillion," as it is spelt in the folio) ; and 
the same is true oi protection in ii. i. 236: "Lo in this right hand, 
whose protection." There are many similar instances in this play. 
This lengthening occurs most frequently at the end of the line, but 
in iii. 4. 65 sociable is a quadrisyllable occurring before the end. 

{h) Many monosyllables ending in r, re, rs, res, preceded by a 
long vowel or diphthong, are often made dissyllables ; 2.% fare (see 
on V. 7. 35), dear, fire, hair, hour (see on iv. 3. 104), yotir, etc. 
If the word is repeated in a verse it is often both monosyllable and 
dissyllable ; as in M. of V. iii. 2. 20 : " And so, though yours, not 
yours. Prove it so," where €\\h^x yours (preferably the first) is a 
dissyllable, the other being a monosyllable. In J. C. iii. i. 172 : 
"As fire drives out fire, so pity, pity," the first fire is a dissyllable. 

{c) Words containing / or r, preceded by another consonant, 
are often pronounced as if a vowel came between or after the con- 
sonants ; as in T. of S.\\. i. 158 : " While she did call me rascal 
fiddler" [fiddl(e)er] ; All's Well, iii. 5. 43 : "If you will tarry, 
holy pilgrim" [pilg(e)rim] ; C. of E. v. i. 360: "These are the 
parents of these children" (childeren, the original form of the 
word) ; W. T. iv. 4. 76 : "Grace and remembrance [rememb(e) 
ranee] be to you both ! " (see also on v. 2. 2. of the present 
play), etc. 

{d) Monosyllabic exclamations {ay, O, yea, nay, hail, etc.) and 
monosyllables otherwise emphasized are similarly lengthened ; also 
certain longer words ; as safety (trisyllable) in Ham. i. 3. 21 ; busi- 
ness (trisyllable, as originally pronounced) iny. C. iv. i. 22: "To 
groan and sweat under the business " (so in several other passages) ; 
and other words mentioned in the notes to the plays in which they 
occur. 



134 • Notes 



6. Words are also contracted for metrical reasons, like plurals 
and possessives ending in a sibilant, as balance, horse (for horses 
and horse'' s, as in ii. i. 289 of this '^X^'f), princess, sense, marriage 
(plural and possessive), image, etc. So with many adjectives in 
the superlative (like eldest in ii. i. 177, sternest, kindest, secrefst, 
etc.), and certain other words. 

7. The accent of words is also varied in many instances for met- 
rical reasons. Thus we find both revenue and revenue in the first 
scene of the M. N. D. (lines 6 and 158), cdnfine (noun) and confine, 
cdntrary and contrdry (see on iv. 2. 198), cdnjure (see on iv. 2. 
269) and conjure, pursue and pursue, distinct and distinct, etc. 

These instances of variable accent must not be confounded with 
those in which words were uniformly accented differently in the 
time of Shakespeare ; like aspect (see on ii. i. 250, iv. 2. 72, 224), 
impdrtune, sepulchre (yti\i), persever (see on ii. i. 421), candnized 
(see on iii. i. 177), rheumatic, etc. 

8. Alexandrines, or verses of twelve syllables, with six accents, 
occur here and there in the plays. They must not be confounded 
with female lines with two extra syllables (see on i above) or with 
other lines in which two extra unaccented syllables may occur. 

9. Inco7nplete verses, of one or more syllables, are scattered 
through the plays. See i. i. 55, 157, ii. i. 276, 279, etc. 

10. Doggerel measure is used in the very earliest comedies 
(Z. Z. Z. and C. of E. in particular) in the mouths of comic charac- 
ters, but nowhere else in those plays, and never anywhere in plays 
written after 1598. There is none in this play. 

11. -^^/;«^ occurs frequently in the early plays, but diminishes 
with comparative regularity from that period until the latest. Thus, 
in Z. Z. Z. there are about iioo rhyming verses (about one-third 
of the whole number) , in the M. N. D. about 900, in Richard II. 
and R. and J. about 500 each, while in Cor. and A. and C. there 
are only about 40 each, in Temp, only two, and in W. T. none 
at all, except in the chorus introducing act iv. Songs, interludes, 
and other matter not in ten-syllable measure are not included in 



Notes 135 

this enumeration. In the present play, out of 2570 verses, about 
150 are in rhyme. 

Alternate rhymes are found only in the plays written before 
1599 or 1600. They are particularly frequent in Z. Z. Z. and 
M. N. D., but much less so in C. of E., T. G. of F., and J^. and J. 
In the present play there are only twelve lines. In M. of V. 
there are only four lines at the end of iii, 2. In Much Ado and 
A. Y. Z. we also find a few lines, but none at all in subsequent 
plays. 

Rhymed couplets, or "rhyme-tags" are often found at the end of 
scenes; as in 11 of the 16 scenes of the present play. In Ham, 
14 out of 20 scenes, and in Macb. 21 out of 28, have such " tags ; " 
but in the latest plays they are not so frequent. In Temp., for 
instance, there is but one, and in W. T. none. 

12. In this edition of Shakespeare, the final -ed of past tenses 
and participles in verse is printed -V when the word is to be pro- 
nounced in the ordinary way ; as in borrowed, lines 4 and 5, and 
Judg'd, line 45, of the first scene. But when the metre requires 
that the -ed be made a separate syllable, the e is retained ; as in 
deceased, line 8, where the word is a trisyllable, and examined 
(quadrisyllable), line 89. The only variation from this rule is in 
verbs like cry, die, sue, etc., the -ed of which is very rarely, if ever, 
made a separate syllable. 

Shakespeare's Use of Verse and Prose in the Plays. — This 
is a subject to which the critics have given very little attention, but 
it is an interesting study. In most of the plays we find scenes en- 
tirely in verse or in prose, and others in which the two are mixed ; 
but in King John there is no prose. In general, we may say that 
verse is used for what is distinctly poetical, and prose for what is 
not poetical. The distinction, however, is not so clearly marked 
in the earlier as in the later plays. The second scene of M. of V., 
for instance, is in prose, because Portia and Nerissa are talking 
about the suitors in a familiar and playful way ; but in T, G. of V., 
where Julia and Lucetta are discussing the suitors of the former in 



136 



Notes 



much the same fashion, the scene is in verse. Dowden, commenting 
on Rich. II. (which is wholly in verse^, remarks : " Had Shakespeare 
written the play a few years later, we may be certain that the gar- 
dener and his servants (iii. 4) would not have uttered stately speeches 
in verse, but would have spoken homely prose, and that humour 
would have mingled with the pathos of the scene. The same re- 
mark maybe made with reference to the subsequent scene (v. 5) in 
which his groom visits the dethroned king in the Tower." Comic 
characters and those in low life generally speak in prose in the later 
plays, as Dowden intimates, but in the very earliest ones doggerel 
verse is much used instead. See on 10 above. 

The change from prose to verse is well illustrated in the third 
scene of M. of V. It begins with plain prosaic talk about a 
business matter ; but when Antonio enters, it rises at once to the 
higher level of poetry. The sight of Antonio reminds Shylock of 
his hatred of the Merchant, and the passion expresses itself in 
verse, the vernacular tongue of poetry. 

The reasons for the choice of prose or verse are not always so 
clear as in this instance. We are seldom puzzled to explain the 
prose, but not unfrequently we meet with verse where we might 
expect prose. As Professor Corson remarks {^Introduction to Shake- 
speare, 1889), " Shakespeare adopted verse as the general tenor of 
his language, and therefore expressed much in verse that is within 
the capabilities of prose ; in other words, his verse constantly en- 
croaches upon the domain of prose, but his prose can never be said 
to encroach upon the domain of verse." If in rare instances we 
think we find exceptions to this latter statement, and prose actually 
seems to usurp the place of verse, I believe that careful study 
of the passage will prove the supposed exception to be apparent 
rather than real. 

Some Books for Teachers and Students. — A few out of 
the many books that might be commended to the teacher and the 
critical student are the following : Halliwell-Phillipps's Outlines of 
the Life of Shakespeare (7th ed. 1887) ; Sidney Lee's Life of Shake- 



Notes 137 

spear e (1898 ; for ordinary students the abridged ed. of 1899 is 
preferable) ; Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon (3d ed. 1902) ; Little- 
dale's ed. of Dyce's Glossary (1902) ; Bartlett's Concordance to 
Shakespeare (1895); ^^^o\X^^ Shakespearian Grammar (1873); 
Furness's "New Variorum" ed. of the plays (encyclopsedic and 
exhaustive) ; Dowden's Shakespeare : His Mind and Art (Ameri- 
can ed. 1881) ; Hudson's Life, Art, and Characters of Shakespeare 
(revised ed. 1882) ; Mrs. Jameson's Characteristics of Women 
(several eds. ; some with the title, Shakespeare Heroines) ; Ten 
Brink's Five Lectures on Shakespeare (1895) '■> Boas's Shakespeare 
and His Predecessors (1895) 5 Dyer's Folk-lore of Shakespeare 
(American ed. 1884) '■> Gervinus's Shakespeare Commentaries (Bun- 
nett's translation, 1875) ; Wordsworth's Shakespeare's Knowledge 
of the Bible (3d ed. 1880) ; Elson's Shakespeare in Music (1901) ; 
Rolfe's Life of Shakespeare (1904). 

Some of the above books will be useful to all readers who are 
interested in special subjects or in general criticism of Shakespeare. 
Among those which are better suited to the needs of ordinary 
readers and students, the following may be mentioned : Mabie's 
William Shakespeare : Poet, Dramatist, and Man (1900) ; Dow- 
den's Shakspere Primer (1877 ; small but invaluable) ; Rolfe's 
Shakespeare the Boy (1896 ; not a mere juvenile book, but useful 
for general reference on the home and school life, the games and 
sports, the manners, customs, and folk-lore of the poet's time) ; 
Guerber's Myths of Greece and RofJie (for young students who 
may need information on mythological allusions not explained in 
the notes). 

For the English historical plays, B. E. Warner's English History 
in Shakespeare^ s Plays (1894) will be good collateral reading, 
particularly in secondary schools. 

Black's Judith Shakespeare (1884 ; a novel, but a careful study 
of the scene and the time) is a book that I always commend to 
young people, and their elders will also enjoy it. The Lambs' 
Tales from Shakespeare is a classic for beginners in the study of 



ijS Notes 

the dramatist ; and in Rolfe's ed. the plan of the authors is carried 
out in the Notes by copious illustrative quotations from the plays. 
Mrs. Cowden-Clarke's Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines (Boston 
ed. 1904) will particularly interest girls ; and both girls and boys 
will find Bennett's Master Skylark (1897) ^"^^ Imogen Clark's 
Will Shakespeare^ s Little Lad (1897) equally entertaining and in- 
structive. 

H. Snowden Ward's Shakespeare's Town and Times (2d ed. 
1902) and John Leyland's Shakespeare Country (2d ed. 1903) are 
copiously illustrated books (yet inexpensive) which may be par- 
ticularly commended for school libraries. 

Abbreviations in the Notes. — The abbreviations of the 
names of Shakespeare's plays will be readily understood ; as 
T. N. for Twelfth Night, Cor. for Coriolanus, 3 Hen. VI. for 
The Third Part of King Henry the Sixth, etc. P. P. refers to 
The Passionate Pilgrim; V. and A. to Venus and Adonis ; L. C. 
to Lover's Complaint ; and Sonn. to the Sonnets. 

Other abbreviations that hardly need explanation are Cf {confer, 
compare), Fol. (following), Id. {idem, the same), and Prol. (pro- 
logue). The numbers of the lines in the references (except for the 
present play) are those of the " Globe " edition (the cheapest and 
best edition of Shakespeare in one compact volume, and a book that 
every teacher and student should have), which is now generally 
accepted as the standard for line-numbers in works of reference 
(Schmidt's Lexicon, Abbott's Grammar, Dowden's Primer, the 
publications of the New Shakspere Society, etc.). 




King John 



ACT I 



Dramatis Persons. — I give these as in the Cambridge and 
Globe eds. The Variorum of 1821 and most of the modern eds. 
add sundry historical details ; as the fact that Prince Henry was 
" afterwards King Henry III.," etc. " Faulconbridge " is the spell- 
ing of the folio, followed by the majority of the modern editors. 

Scene I. — Most of the eds. give the scene as " Northampton. 
A Room of State in the Kijig'' s Palace^^ There is no doubt that the 
court was then held at Northampton ; but with regard to the local- 
ity of some of the other scenes we cannot speak so positively. The 
1st scene of act iv,, for instance, is laid by Capell in "Northamp- 
ton," by Halliwell-Phillipps in " Dover," and by White in " Canter- 
bury." As the Cambridge editors remark, " nothing is gained by 
an attempt to harmonize the plot with historical facts gathered 
from Holinshed and elsewhere, when it is plain that S. was either 
ignorant of them or indifferent to minute accuracy." 

139 



140 Notes [Act I 

I. Chatillon. The old eds. have " Chatillion," which indicates 
the pronunciation. There is no historic mention of his em- 
bassy. 

3. In my behaviour, " In the character which I here assume " 
(Johnson) ; "in the words and action that I am going to use " 
(Malone) ; " not only in my words, but in my bearing and man- 
ner — my assumption of superiority to the 'borrowed majesty' of 
John" (Fleay). 

4. Borrow' d. The folio has "borrowed" (also in the next 
line), which the Cambridge ed. retains. 

5. Elinor of Guienne, as she is called, was daughter of William 
IV., Duke of Aquitaine, first married to Louis VII. of France (from 
whom she was divorced), and later to Henry Plantagenet, after- 
ward Henry II. 

7. Philip of France, Philip Augustus, who succeeded his father 
in 1 180, at the age of fifteen. He died in 1223. 

In right and true behalf ^^ in behalf of the just claim. 
10. Territories. Feudal dependencies. 

16. Disallow. Used by S. nowhere else ; but we have allow of 
in W. T. iv. i. 29 and T. N. iv. 2. 63. 

17. Control. Constraint, compulsion. Cf. Rich. III. iii. 5. 84: 
"without control" (that is, restraint). See also Hen. V, ii. 4. 
96:- 

" French King. Or else what follows ? 

Exeter. Bloody constraint ; for if you hide the crown 
Even in your hearts, there will he rake for it." 

19. War for war, etc. Steevens compares Jeronimo, 1588- 
89:- 

" Aud. Thou shalt pay tribute, Portugal, with blood. 
Bal. Tribute for tribute then ; and foes for foes." 

24. As lightning. Johnson finds fault with the simile, because 
" the lightning is destructive, and the thunder innocent ; " but it is 
the quickness with which the th.xmdiex follows the lightning to which 



Scene I] Notes 141 

the poet alludes. Besides, the thunder was not then thought to be 
harmless. Cf. Temp. ii. i. 204, ii. 2. 112, M.forM. ii. 2. no fol., 
J. C. i. 3. 49, Cymb. iv. 2. 271, etc. 

Of course the mention of cannon here is an anachronism, as it is 
in Macbeth and Hamlet. Gunpowder was not invented until at 
least a century later, and artillery is commonly said to have been 
first used at the battle of Cressy. S. " uses terms which were famil- 
iar to his audience, to present a particular image to their senses. 
Had he, instead of cannon, spoken of the mangonell and the petra- 
ria — the stone-flinging machines of the time of John — he would 
have addressed himself to the very few who might have appre- 
ciated his exactness, but his words would have fallen dead upon 
the ears of the many" (Knight). 

27. Trumpet. Trumpeter, herald. Cf. Hen. V. iv. 2. 61 : "I 
will the banner from a trumpet take." See also Ham. i. i, 150, 
T. and C. iv. 5. 6, etc. 

28. Sullen. Sad, dismal. Cf. R. and J. iv. 5. %'^: "sullen 
dirges," etc. It is often applied to sounds ; as of a funeral bell. 
Cf. 2 Hen. IV. i. i. 102: "A sullen bell, remember'd tolling a de- 
parting friend." 

29. Conduct. Escort ; as in Hen. V. i. 2. 297 : " safe conduct," 
etc. This use of the word is still retained in military parlance. 

30. Pembroke. This was William Marshall, second son of John 
Marshall, Lord Mareschal to Henry H. He became Earl of Pem- 
broke by his marriage with Isabel de Clare, daughter of Richard 
Strongbow. His eldest son, of the same name, was one of the 
twenty-five barons who obtained Magna Charta from King John ; 
and it was this son who was among the nobles that joined the 
Dauphin. The father remained faithful to John. He died in 
1 21 9, and was buried in the Temple Church in London. 

Chatillon. A quadrisyllable here, like the "Chatillion" of the 
folio. See also p. 133 above. 

34. Party. Part, side ; as in ii. i. 361 and iii. i. 123 below. 
37. Manage. Administration. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 70 : " the man- 



142 Notes [Act I 

age of my state ; " AI. of V. iii. 4. 25 : " The husbandry and 
manage of my house," etc. 

40-43. Your strong possession, etc. Spoken aside to John, as 
the last line proves. 

44. My liege, etc. The speaker, Earl of Essex, was Geoffrey Fitz- 
Peter, or Fitz-Piers, who was created Earl in 1199, the first year of 
John's reign, and died in 121 2. 

49. Charge. Cost, expense ; as often. Cf. v. 2. 100 below. 

50. Your faithful subject, etc. Steevens remarks that the char- 
acter of the Bastard, adopted from the old play, is " compounded 
of two distinct personages : " " Falcasius de Brente " of Matthew 
Paris's Chronicle, and the natural son of Richard I. "named 
Philip," mentioned by Holinshed. Malone suggests that the 
author of the old play was led to afhx the name of Faulconbridge 
to this son of King Richard by a passage in the continuation of 
Harding's Chronicle, 1543, where he is called "one Faulconbridge, 
therle of Kent, his bastarde, a stoute-hearted man." It is said that 
his mother was a lady of Poictou, and that King Richard bestowed 
upon her son a lordship in that province. The old play gives only 
this slight hint of the character which S. has made so much of: — 

" Next them a bastard of the king's deceas'd, 
A hardie wild-head, rough, and venturous." 

About Robert Faulconbridge nothing of historic interest is known. 
In the old play his father is called Richard, not Robert, as by S. 
Of Lady Faulconbridge nothing is known beyond the facts that S. 
uses in the play. 

54. Coeur-de-lion. Spelt uniformly " Cordelion " in the folios. 

62. Put you o'er. Refer you ; the only instance of the phrase 
in S. 

64. Rude man I Fleay gives " rude-man " (like goodman, etc.) 
and compares "rudesby " in T. of S. iii. 2. 10 and T. N. iv. i. 55. 

65. Diffidence. Distrust, suspicion ; the only sense of the word 
in S. Cf. I Hen. VI. iii. 3. 10: — 



Scene I] Notes 1 43 

" We have been guided by thee hitherto, 
And of thy cunning had no diffidence ; " 

and Lear, i. 2. 161 : "needless diffidences." 

68. A\ A corruption of he, common in the language of the vul- 
gar, but sometimes put into the mouth of the well-bred (Schmidt). 
The early eds. print it without the apostrophe ; the modern ones 
give a? or 'a. 

69. Pound. S. uses both pound and pounds for the plural. 

75. Whethe7\ The folios (except the 4th) have " where," as in 
ii. I. 167 below and not a few other passages. Some eds. print 
"whe'r," which is another contraction found in the old eds. In 
134 below the folios have "whether," though the word is metri- 
cally equivalent to a monosyllable, as here. 

78. Fair fall, etc. Good luck befall the frame that bore the 
pains of maternity for me ! Cf. V. and A. 472 : " Fair fall the wit 
that can so well defend her! " See also L. L. L. ii. i. 124, 125. 

The Earl of Salisbury, who, like Pembroke, appears in this scene 
without speaking, was William Longswood, natural son of Henry II. 
by Rosamond Clifford. He married Ela, daughter of William 
Devereux, Earl of Salisbury, and succeeded to the title. He was 
one of the lords who represented the king in the negotiations con- 
cerning Magna Charta, but afterwards revolted and joined the 
Dauphin. 

82. O old Sir Robert, father. Perhaps Fleay is right in omitting 
the comma after Robert. 

84. Lent. Heath conjectured "sent; " but cf. R.of L. 17, A. 
TV. ii. 2. 8, Rer. prol. 24, etc. 

85. Trick. Peculiarity ; as in W. T. ii. 3. 100 : " The trick 
of 's frown ; " Lear, iv. 6. io8: "The trick of that voice I do well 
remember," etc. Some connect this use of the word with its her- 
aldic application = copy. Mr. Wilbraham, in his MS. notes (cited 
in the Cambridge ed.), gives from an old account-book : "July 2ist, 
1 69 1, received of Mr. Cole for a trick of Consure's arms, 2s. 6d." 

86. Affecteth. Resembles j a sense not found elsewhere in S., 



144 Notes [Act I 

but somewhat like its use = imitate, as in T. of A. iv. 3. 199 : 
"Thou dost affect my manners," etc. 

88. The large composition, etc. " This expression finely brings 
to the eye those magnificent proportions of manly strength that 
characterized Richard I., and which helped to make him the heroic 
ideal of English hearts" (Clarke). 

94. A half-fac'd groat. A silver groat (or fourpence) with the 
king's profile on it ; first coined in the reign of Henry VII. The 
groat was not coined at all until the time of Edward III. But S. 
did not mind these little anachronisms. For the contemptuous use 
oi half-faced, cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 283: "this same half-faced fel- 
low, Shadow." Here there is a play upon the word. 

100. The emperor. Henry Vl. 

1 10. Took it, etc. Took his oath, protested. Cf. i Hen. IV. v. 
4. 154: "I'll take it upon my death, I gave him this wound ; " Id. 
ii. 4. 9 : " They take it already upon their salvation, that though I 
be but Prince of Wales, yet I am the king of courtesy," etc. Fleay 
quotes Lover^s Progress, v. 3 : — 

"Upon my death I take it, uncorapell'd, 
That they are guilty." 

119. Which fault. Cf. iii. i. 40 below: "Which harm," etc. 
Lies on the hazards of = is risked by ; a gambling phrase. Cf. M. 
for M. iv. 2. 166 : "I'll lay myself in hazard," etc. 

1 27. This concludes. " This is a decisive argument. As your 
father, if he liked him, could not be forced to resign him, so, not 
liking him, he is not at liberty to reject him" (Johnson). Perhaps 
it is simply = this is the conclusion. 

137. Lord of thy presence. "Master of that fine manly person 
inherited from Coeur-de-lion ; " with perhaps the added idea, as 
Clarke suggests, of " master of thine own individuality or identity." 
Cf. ii. I. 367 and 377 below. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Si? Henry 
Wotton's description of The Happy Man : — 



Scene I] Notes 1 45 

" Lord of himself, though not of lands, 
And having nothing, yet hath all." 

138. An if. The folios have "And if," as often. Some editors 
read, "An if " in 112 above, assuming that it represents the And 
ifoi the folio, as perhaps it does. 

139. And I, etc. The folio reads: "And I had his, sir Roberts 
his like him," etc. The modern editors arrange it in as many dif- 
ferent ways as a Chinese puzzle. The majority give it, "And I had 
his, Sir Robert his, like him." Fleay has " And I had his Sir 
Robert's j his, like him ; " that is, " his (my brother's) shape of Sir 
Robert ; his (my brother's) ; like hint (my brother) — Philip 
pointing at his brother at the vs^ords his and him.^'' The reading in 
the text is that of the Cambridge ed. Sir Roberts his may perhaps 
be = his, derived from Sir Robert, or Sir Robert's shape as seen in 
him ; spoken contemptuously, the repeated his being treated as a 
noun. Johnson explains " Sir Robert his " as = Sir Robert's, the 
his being used instead of the possessive '.r, as in " Mars his sw^ord " 
{Sonn. 55. 7), " Levi^is his satisfaction " {Hen. V. i. 2. 88), etc. ; but 
I doubt whether that form of the possessive was ever used with the 
thing possessed " understood," not expressed. Schmidt considers 
that in Sir Roberfs his we have " the 'j of the genitive and his 
combined." 

140. Riding-rods. Switches. 

142. Rose. It was the fashion in Elizabeth's time to wear ro- 
settes of ribbon, and sometimes real roses, stuck behind the ear. 
Steevens cites Marston, Jonson, Davenant, and Burton in illustra- 
tion of the custom. 

To understand the allusion in three- far things, it is necessary to 
know that Elizabeth coined pieces of that value which had her 
head and the emblematic rose of England upon them. These coins, 
as Malone states, were of silver and so thin that they were liable to 
be cracked. Hence Jonson, in his Every Man in His Humour, 
says : " He values me at a cracked three-farthings." 

144. To. In addition to, besides ; as not unfrequently. 

KING JOHN — 10 



146 Notes [Act I 

146. Face! Fleay reads "hand," as being "necessary for the 
rhyme with land^ and also for the antithesis to foot, which, after 
Shakespeare's usual custom, is used in a double sense, one mean- 
ing being merely glanced at." 

147. Nob. Contemptuous for Robert. The foho prints it " sir 
nobbe." Clarke thinks there is a kind of a pun on nob, the cant 
word for head. 

154. Unto the death. Though death be the consequence j the 
Fr. a la mort. Cf. Much Ado, i. 3. 72, L, L. L. v. 2. 146, etc. 

161. Arise. Steevens's emendation of the "rise" of the folios. 

162. Plantagenet. Originally not a family name, but a nickname, 
by which a grandson of Geffrey, the first earl of Anjou, was distin- 
guished, from his wearing a broom-stalk (^planta genista^ in his 
bonnet ; afterwards popularly assigned as a surname to the royal 
family of England from Henry II. to Richard II. (Malone). Other 
explanations of the origin of the name have been given. 

169. Truth. Honesty (Johnson). Cf. 181 below. What 
though = what of it ? what matters it ? Cf. M. W. \. l. 286, A. Y. 
L. iii. 3. 31, Hen. V. ii. i. 9, etc. 

170. Something about, etc. "/«;;z, says the sprightly knight, 
your grandson, a little irregularly, but every man cannot get what 
he wishes the legal way. He that dares not go about his designs 
by day must make his motions in the night ; he to whom the door is 
shut must climb the window or leap the hatch. This, however, 
shall not depress me ; for the world never inquires how any man 
got what he is known to possess, but allows that to have is to have, 
however it was caught, and that he who wins shot well, whatever 
was his skill, whether the arrow fell near the mark or far off it " 
(Johnson). In at the window and over the hatch were proverbial 
phrases for illegitimacy, as Steevens shows by sundry quotations. 
A hatch is a half-door (the lower half of the door arranged to shut, 
leaving the upper half open like a window) such as is still commonly 
seen in English cottages. Cf. v. 2. 138 below : " take the hatch ; " 
and Lear, iii. 6. 76 : " Dogs leap the hatch." 



Scene I] Notes 147 

177. A landless knight. Not the king ("John Sans-terre" or 
" Lackland," as he was called), but Philip. 

180. Good fortune come to thee, etc. The thee is emphatic. He 
intimates that he himself does not need the good wish, as, accord- 
ing to the proverb, " bastards are born lucky." 

182. Afoot. A step, 2^?2 /aj (Johnson) . 

184. Joan. A peasant girl. Cf. L. L. L. iii. i. 207 : " Some men 
must love my lady and some Joan ; " Id. v. 2. 930 : " While 
greasy Joan doth keel the pot," etc. 

185. Good den. Good evening. Cf. E. and J. i. 2. 57, ii. 4. 
116, etc. The full form of the salutation was " God give you good 
even ; " sometimes " Godgigoden " or " Godigoden " in the early 
eds. " Faulconbridge is now entertaining himself with ideas of 
greatness, suggested by his recent knighthood. Good den. Sir 
Richard he supposes to be the salutation of a vassal ; God-a- 
mercy, fellow, his own supercilious reply to it " (Steevens). God-a- 
tnercy = God have mercy. Cf. T. of S. iv. 3. 154, Ham. iv. 5, 199, etc. 

188. Respective. Regardful, or considerate. Cf. M. of V. v. i, 
156: "You should have been respective, and have kept it;" 
R. and J. iii. i. 128 : "Away to heaven, respective lenity," etc. 

189. Conversion. Change for the better ; as in A. Y. L. iv. 3. 
137. S. uses the noun only twice. 

Your traveller. " It is said in A. W. [ii. 5. 30] that ' a 
traveller is a good thing after dinner.' In that age of newly 
excited curiosity, one of the entertainments at great tables seems 
to have been the discourse of a traveller" (Johnson). 

190. Toothpick. The use of a toothpick was considered a 
foreign affectation in the time of S. Cf. A. W. iii. 2. 8 and W. T. 
iv. 4. 780. For mess = dinner table or company at dinner, see 
W. T. i. 2. 227, JIam. v. 2. 89, etc. 

191. Suffi.c'd. Satisfied ; as in A. Y. L. ii. 7. 131 : — 

" till he be first suffic'd, 
Oppress'd with two weak evils, age and hunger, 
I will not touch a bit." 



148 Notes [Act I 

192. I suck my teeth. Not using a toothpick, like the traveller. 

193. Picked. Refined. Cf. L. L. L. v. i. 14 : " He is too 
picked, too spruce, too affected, too odd, as it were, too peregri- 
nate, as I may call it." My picked man of countries = " my 
travelled fop." 

196. Absey book. ABC book, or primer, which often included a 
catechism, like the old New England Primer. Halliwell-Phillipps 
quotes Cotgrave, Fr. Diet. : " Abece, an abcee, the crosse-row, an 
alphabet." 

201. Compliment. Toilet cites Sir W. Cornwallis's ^j'^^jj/j, 1601, 
in which the extravagance of compliment in that day is thus 
ridiculed : " We spend even at his [a friend's or stranger's] 
entrance a whole volume of words. What a deal of synamon and 
ginger is sacrificed to dissimulation ! ' O, how blessed do I take 
mine eyes for presenting me with this sight ! O Signior, the 
star that governs my life in contentment, give me leave to interre 
myself in your arms ! — Not so, sir, it is too unworthy an inclosure 
to contain such preciousness,' etc. This, and a cup of drink, 
makes the time as fit for a departure as can be." 

203. The Pyrenean. The Pyrenees ; mentioned by S. only 
here. 

207. For he is but a bastard, etc. " He is accounted but a mean 
man, in the present age, who does not show, by his dress, his de- 
portment, and his talk, that he has travelled, and made observa- 
tions in foreign countries" (Malone). 

208. Observation. " Courtly deference " (Herford) ; not = 
"knowledge gained by observation," as Schmidt defines it. The 
word here is metrically five syllables. 

210. Device. Cut of dress. 

212. Motion. Impulse ; as in iv. 2. 255 below: "The dreadful 
motion of a murtherous thought," etc. 

214. Which. Referring to to deliver sweet poison. 

216. Strew the footsteps, etc. Make the path smoother. Cf. 
A. and C. I. 3. loi : — 



Scene I] Notes 149 

" and smooth success 
Be strew'd before your feet ! " 

219. To blow a horn. " He means that a woman who travelled 
about like z. post was likely to horn her husband" (Johnson). Cf. 
what the Bastard says to Austria in ii. i. 292 below. 

220. Gtirney. S. may have got this name from Holinshed, 
who, in his history of King John, mentions a Hugh Gourney 
(Malone). Nothing is known historically concerning him. 

225. Colbraitd. A Danish giant, whom Guy of Warwick dis- 
comfited in the presence of King Athelstan (Johnson). Cf. 
Hen. VIII. V. 4. 22 : "I am not Samson, nor Sir Guy, nor Col- 
brand," etc. 

227. Unreverend. Used by S. interchangeably with unrever- 
ent, and = irreverent, disrespectful. Cf. T. G. of V. ii. 6, 14 : 
" Fie, fie, unreverend tongue ! to call her bad," etc. Irreverent 
does not occur in S. 

228. Scorn' St thou at. Scoffest thou at. Cf. Rich. III. iv. 4. 
102 ; " one that scorn'd at me," etc. 

230. Give us leave awhile. Leave us alone ; a courteous ex- 
pression of the time. 

231. Good leave, good Philip. Coleridge, in one of his Table- 
Talks, said : " For an instance of Shakespeare's power in minimis, 
I generally quote James Gurney's character in King Joh^t. How 
individual and comical he is with the four words allowed to his 
dramatic life ! " Clarke adds : " They certainly suffice to show us 
the free-and-easy style of the confidential servitor ; one intrusted 
with the family secrets of this country household ; one accus- 
tomed to treat the eldest son, but not the heir, with a coolly easy 
familiarity tolerated by the good-humoured young man, and only 
lightly waved aside by the new-made knight." 

Sparrow! The sparrow was called ^/^?7z^ from its note. Holt 
White quotes Lyly, Mother Bombie : — 

" cry 
Phip, phip the sparrowes as they fly." 



150 Notes [Act I 

From the note of the bird, Catullus in his Elegy on Lesbians Spar- 
row, has formed a verb : " Ad solam dominam usque pipilabatP 
Cf, Gascoigne's Praise of Philip Sparrow : — 

" Of all the byrds that I doo know, 
Philip my sparrow hath no peere. 

Let other prayse what byrd they will, 
Sweete Philip shall be my byrd still." 

Sir Richard sportively rebukes Gurney for calling him by his 
former name, " Philip I do you take me for a sparrow ? " 

232. There ^s toys abroad. " Certain trifling changes have come 
to pass " (Singer). For toy = trifle, cf. A. V. L. iii. 3. 77, T, of S. 
iv. 3. 67, Macb. ii. 3. 99, etc. 

234. Sir Robert ??tight have eat, etc. Steevens quotes Heywood, 
Dialogues upon Proverbs, 1562: — 

" he may his parte on good Fridaie eate, 
And fast never the wurs, for ought he shall geate." 

236. To confess. To be honest, to tell the truth. 

239. Beholding. Beholden, indebted ; as often. S. does not 
use beholden. 

240. Holp. Helped ; the form regularly used by S. except in 
Rich.III. V. 3. 167 and 0th. ii. i. 138, where we find helped. It is 
also the more common form for the participle, being used ten times, 
while helped occurs only four times. Holpen is found in Psalms, 
Ixxxiii. 8, Daniel, xi. 34. Luke, i. 54, etc. 

243. Untoward. Unmannerly ; as in the only other instance of 
the word in S., T. of S. iv. 5. 79 : " Then hast thou taught Hor- 
tensio to be untoward." 

244. Basilisco-like. An allusion to Soliman and Perseda, a 
stupid play printed in 1599 : — 

" Basilisco. O, I swear, I swear. 
Piston. By the contents of this blade, — 
Basilisco. By the contents of this blade, — 



Scene I] Notes 151 

Piston, I, the aforesaid Basilisco, — 
Basilisco. I, the aforesaid Basilisco, — knight, 
Good fellow, knight. 
Piston. Knave, good fellow, knave, knave." 

The Bastard, Basilisco-like, insists on being called knight instead 
of knave. 

250. Proper. Comely, handsome ; as in M. of V. i. 2. 77 : "a 
proper man's picture," etc. Cf. Hebrews, xi. 23. 

Who was it, mother? "No one like Shakespeare for setting 
straight before the imagination the very look, gesture, and tone 
with which a few simple words could be uttered. By the way in 
which he has written these two lines, introducing this little sen- 
tence at the close, we see the son's hugging arm thrown round her, 
the close drawing her to him, the manly wooing voice by which he 
accompanies the coaxing question " (Clarke). 

256. Dear. Grievous. Cf. Hen. V. ii. 2. 181: "your dear 
offences ; Rich. III. i. 4. 215 : — 

" How canst thou urge God's dreadful law to us, 
When thou hast broke it in so dear degree ? " 

260. Some sins, etc. " There are sins that, whatever be deter- 
mined of them above, are not much censured on earth " (Johnson). 

262. Dispose. Cf. T. G. of V. ii. 7. 86 : " All that is mine I 
leave at thy dispose" (see also Id. iv. i. 76). For dispose = dis- 
position, temper, cf. 0th. i. 3. 403 : " a smooth dispose." 

265. Aweless, Fearless. Fleay makes it = " unruled, lawless," 
comparing the use of awe in Nobody and Somebody : " Subjects 
unto the awe of Elidun." 

266. Nor keep, etc. The allusion is to the old legend that Rich- 
ard derived his name of Cceiir-de-lion from having torn out the 
heart of a lion to which he had been exposed by the Duke of 
Austria in revenge for having killed his son. A metrical form of 
the story may be found in Percy's Reliques. 

267. Perforce. By force; as often. 

272. My kin. The king and the dowager queen. Cf. 168 above. 




Queen Elinor 



■ ACT II 

Scene I. — In the folio this scene is headed " SccBiia Secunda ; " 
and the next (iii. i), ^^ Actus Secundus.''^ The latter ends with iii. 
I. 74, making the act consist of only 74 lines ; and ^^ Actus Tertius, 
Sccena prima" then begins, continuing to end of iii. i. " Sccetta 
Secunda " includes iii. 2 and iii. 3, and " Sccena Tertia " is iii. 4. 
The divisions of the last two acts are the same as in the modern 
eds. Fleay makes the first 299 lines of this scene a second scene 
of act i., taking the remainder as ii. i ; and he divides iii. I into 
ii. 2 (74 lines) and iii. i. White also makes this division of iii. I, 
and gives good reasons for it ; but for convenience in cross refer- 
ences I follow the arrangement (first made by Theobald) in the 
" Globe " ed. and most of the modern eds. 

Constance, who appears first in this scene, was the daughter of 
Conan le Petit, Duke of Brittany, and his wife Margaret, daughter 
of Henry Earl of Huntingdon. She married first Geoffrey, son of 

152 



Scene I] Notes 153 

Henry II., who was killed by accident about three years afterward. 
Arthur was born after his father's death. Constance was soon mar- 
ried forcibly to Randal de Blondeville, Earl of Chester, a brutal 
tyrant from whom she divorced herself in 1199, and later married 
Guy, Count of Thouars. She died suddenly in 1201, a few months 
after Arthur was taken prisoner. For fuller information concern- 
ing her history, see Mrs. Jameson's Characteristics of Women. 

I. Before Angiers, etc. The folio gives this speech, and the 
one in 18 below, to " Lewis^'' but it clearly belongs to King Philip, 
as Dyce, Clarke, and others assign it. The expression "At our 
importance " in 7 is alone sufficient to show that it belongs to the 
king, who would also be more likely to refer to Arthur as " noble 
boy " than would Lewis, who was of about the same age. As Mr. 
Williams has remarked, those who adhere to the folio, which is 
often inaccurate in its prefixes (see, for instance, on 368 below), 
forget that S. has crowded into this drama the events of several 
years. " In the later acts Lewis plays a conspicuous part, and 
heads the invasion of England ; but at the period in question he 
was a mere youth, and was evidently so considered by the drama- 
tist." Cf. 495 below, where the king addresses him as "boy," and 
521, where he and Blanch are called "young ones," It is hardly 
probable that this " beardless boy," as the Bastard afterwards calls 
him (v. I. 69), would be the first to welcome the Duke of Austria 
here, and that in the presence of his royal father. As a rule, S. 
" makes his monarchs and great personages open and conclude the 
dialogue whenever they appear." It may be added that in the old 
play the corresponding speech is given to King Philip. 

Fleay believes that the first 200 lines of this scene (with iii. 2. 
i-io) were " inserted hurriedly after the rest of the play had been 
written," and after the death of the poet's son, Hamnet, in 1596; 
and that the blunders in names " are to be attributed to the confu- 
sion caused by grief in Shakespeare's mind." 

The introduction of Austria here is an anachronism, as Leopold, 
Duke of Austria, by whom Richard I. had been thrown into prison 



154 Notes [Act II 

in 1 193, died in 1195, while the action of this play begins in 1199 
(Malone). Cf. the old play (i. 2. 4) : — 

" Brave Austria, cause of Cordelion's death, 
Is also come to aid thee in thy wars." 

7. Importance. Importunity; as in T. N. v. i. 371. So im- 
portant =^ importunate in Much Ado, ii. i. 74, A, W, iii. 7. 21, and 
Lear, iv. 4. 26. 

12. God shall forgive you, ^'<.c. " S. has made Arthur of younger 
age at this period than historical truth warrants; but he well knew 
that the truth of tragic story would be more perfectly fulfilled by 
having a child the subject of injury here. The way in which he 
has drawn the innocent boy throughout is intensely pathetic — a 
sweet and gentle nature hurled to and fro like a flower amid tem- 
pests ; bruised, wounded, and finally crushed by the stormy pas- 
sions and ruthless ambitions of the merciless natures around him. 
That the dramatist has nowise violated natural and characteristic 
truth, by making the little prince speak with a grace and propriety 
beyond those generally belonging to children of his age, we have 
confirmatory evidence in a record made by Froissart in his Chron- 
icles, where he describes the conduct of the Princess of France, 
then * a yonge childe of eyght yere of age ' " (Clarke). 

20. Indenture. Contract. Cf. Ham. v. i. 119, i Hen. IV. ii. 4. 
53, iii. I. 80, etc. 

23. Pale and white-fac' d refer of course to the chalk cliffs of the 
southern coast of England. 

26. With. By; as often. On the passage, cf. Rich. II. ii. i. 
46 fol. 

34. A more requital. A greater return. Cf. V. and A. 78 : "a 
more delight ; " R. of L. 332 : " a more rejoicing ; " C. of E. ii. 2. 
174 : *'a more contempt," etc. 

37. Well then, etc. The first speech given to King Philip in 
the folio ; but the form of expression rather implies that he has 
spoken before. See on i above. 



Scene I] Notes 155 

39. Chiefest. A superlative often used by S. See M. of V. ii. 
8. 43, Macb. iii. 5. '^^^ Ham. i. 2. 117, etc. 

40. Plots of best advantages. Most advantageous positions. 

45. Unadvised. Inconsiderate, rash. Cf. R. and J. ii. 2. 1 18: 
"It is too rash, too unadvis'd, too sudden," etc. See also 191 and 
V. 2. 132 belov^^. 

49. Indirectly, Wrongfully ; as in Hen. V. ii. 4. 94 : " Your 
crown and kingdom, indirectly held," etc. So indirection = wrong, 
in iii. I. 276 below, and iny. C. iv, 3. 75. 

50. A wonder. " The wonder is only that Chatillon happened 
to arrive at the moment when Constance mentioned him ; which 
the French king, according to a superstition which prevails more 
or less in every mind agitated by great affairs, turns into a miracu- 
lous interposition, or omen of good " (Johnson) . 

53. We coldly pause for thee. That is, we restrain ourself, and 
calmly wait to hear thy message. 

58. Stafd. Waited for. Cf. M. N. D. v. i. 259 : " Stay the 
time," etc. 

59. All as soon. A common "intensive " use of all. 

60. Expedient. Expeditious, rapid ; used by S. in this sense 
only in plays before 1596. Cf. 223 and iv. 2. 268 be- 
low. 

63. Ate. The goddess of discord. Cf. Much Ado, ii. i. 263, 
/. C. iii. I. 271, etc. 

64. Blanch. Daughter of Alphonso VIII. of Castile and Eleanor, 
sister of K. John. From her are descended the royal houses of 
Valois, Bourbon, and Orleans. Her granddaughter, Isabel, mar- 
ried Edward II. and was the mother of Edward III. 

65. King^s. The later folios have "king." The old play has 
" Next t' them, a bastard of the king's deceast." 

66. Unsettled humours. Restless spirits. 

67. Voluntaries. Volunteers. Cf. T. and C. ii. i. 106: "Ajax 
was here the voluntary." 

68. Fierce dragons^ spleens. Cf. Rich. HI. v. 3. 350 : ** Inspire 



156 Notes [Act II 

us with the spleen of fiery dragons ! '* Spleen = impetuosity, 
ardour ; as often. 

69. Have sold their fortunes^ etc. Cf. Hen. VIII. i. I. 83: — 

" O, many 
Have broke their backs with laying manors on 'em 
For this great journey." 

73. Bottoms. Ships. Cf. M. of V.\. i. 42 and T. N. v. i. 60. 
Waft — wafted ; as in M. of V.\. i. ii. Cf. heat=^ heated, in iv. 
I. 61 below. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes The affectionate Shepheard, 

1594: — 

" And from Deaths quiver fell a fatall shaft, 

That under Cupid by the wind was waft." 

75. Scath. Harm, mischief. Cf. Rich. III. i. 3. 317, etc. 
Spenser uses the noun often; as in F. Q. i. 12. 34: "To worke 
new woe and improvided scath," etc. The verb occurs in R. and f. 
i. 5. 86. 

77. More circu7nstance. Further particulars. Cf. R. and J. ii. 
5. 36 : "I '11 stay the circumstance." 

85. Lineal. By lineal or hereditary right. 

87, Whiles. See on iii. 4. 132 below. 

95. Under-wrought. Undermined ; Used by S. nowhere else. 

97. Out-faced infant state. " Brazenly outraged a child's right " 
(Clarke); that is, his right to the throne. For out-faced^ cf. v. I. 
49 below. 

loi. This little abstract, e\.c. Cf. ^. 7". ii. 3. 97 : — 

" Behold, my lords. 
Although the print be little, the whole matter 
And copy of the father," etc. 

103. Brief Equivalent to a^^^r^z^:^ above. Cf. M. fF. i. i. 146, 
M. AT. D.v. I. 42, etc. 

106. This is Geffrey/'s. This is Geffrey's heir. Clarke makes 
this is Geffrey's = this boy's (that is, his right) is Geffrey's. 



Scene ij Notes 157 

109. Oiue. Own, are entitled to. Cf. 248 and iv. 2. 99 below. 
O^ ermasterest = hast become master of, hast got by force. 

III. To draw my answer, etc. " To make me answer according 
to thy articles " (Schmidt) ; " to draw up my replication out of the 
clauses of your own brief" (Fleay). It is legal phraseology. 

113. Breast. The ist folio has "beast ; " corrected in 2d folio, 

119. Excuse. Schmidt is probably right in making this a noun. 
It seems to be elliptical = my excuse is. Cf. reason in W. T. iv. 4. 
417: "Reason my son Should choose himself a wife," etc. Fleay 
explains it " pardon me." 

123. Check. "Treat as a bondman" (Schmidt); or perhaps 
alluding to chess (Herford). Cf, y. C. iii. 4. 97: "check'd like 
a bondman ; " and 3 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 166 : — 

" to command, to check, to o'erbear such 
As are of better person than myself." 

Malone quotes Holinshed : " Surely Queen Eleanor, the kyngs 
mother, was sore against her nephew Arthur, rather moved thereto 
by envye conceyved against his mother, than upon any just oc- 
casion, given in the behalfe of the childe ; for that she saw, if he 
were king, how his mother Constance would looke to beare the 
most rule within the realme of Englande, till her sonne should 
come to a lawfull age to governe of himselfe. So hard a thing it is, 
to bring women to agree in one minde, their natures commonly 
being so contrary." 

127. Than thou, etc. The folio reads "Then thou and lohn. 
in manners being as like," etc. ; and Fleay prefers that pointing. 

128. Dam. Here used contemptuously; but not always so. 
See W. T. iii. 2. 199: "his gracious dam." 

131. If thou tvert his mother. "Constance alludes to Elinor's 
infidelity to her husband, Louis VII., when they were in the Holy 
Land ; on account of which he was divorced from her. She after- 
wards (1151) married our king Henry II." (Malone). Traditions 
of her adultery are reported by Fabyan and Stow, but Holinshed 
makes no such charge. 



158 



Notes [Act II 



134. Hear the crier ! A sarcastic allusion to the crier's proc- 
lamation of silence in courts of justice, suggested by Austria's 
Peace ! 

136. An a' may catch you, etc. It is said that Austria wore a 
lion's hide which he had taken as a spoil from Richard when he 
killed him (Pope). As Johnson adds, S. assumed that this story 
would be familiar to his audience, and therefore does not refer to 
it in the play as the ground of the Bastard's hostility to Austria. 

137. The proverb. "Mortuoleoni et lepores insultant " (Eras- 
mus, Adagia, quoted by Malone). Steevens cites The Spanish 
Tragedy : " So hares may pull dead lions by the beard." 

139. lUl smoke your ski7i-coat. Cf. Cotgrave : *^ J^en auray, — 
blowes being understood — I shall be well beaten ; my skin-coat 
will be soundly curried." In the north of England s??ioke is a 
provincialism = " to beat severely." 

141. (?, well, etc. Clarke is inclined to assign this speech to 
Constance rather than Blanch, " who seems intended by the drama- 
tist to take no part in what is going forward until there is question 
of her marriage with the Dauphin, and she is addressed by him ; " 
but S. follows the old play, in which Blanch says : — 

" Joy tide his soul, to whom that spoil belong'd : 
Ah, Richard, how thy glory here is wrong'd ! " 

144. As great Alcides' shows, etc. The folio reads " As great 
Alcides shooes vpon an Asse;" and "shoes" was defended by 
Malone and Steevens, who cited sundry passages referring to the 
shoes of Hercules on feet too small for them. Fleay also retains 
*' shoes," but changes ass to " ape." The emendation in the text 
is due to Theobald, and is adopted by most of the recent editors. 

147. Cracker. A play upon the various meanings of the word, 
including that of boaster. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Nojuenclator, 
1585: "Grand menteur ou vanteur, a bragger ; a boster; a 
vaunter ; a craker ; a vaine praiser of his owne virtue." Cf. the 
modern vulgarism, " cracking himself up." 



Scene I] Notes 159 

149. King Philip, determine, t.\.c. The folio reads : — 

" King Lewis, determine what we shall doe strait. 
Lew. Women & fooles," etc. 

The emendation in the text was made by Theobald. Capell's 
reading, adopted by many of the editors, is 

" ICing Philip. Lewis, determine what we shall do straight. 
Lewis. Women and fools," etc. 

The objection to this is implied in the note on i above. The king 
would not be likely to refer the matter to a mere " boy " for deci- 
sion. For Austria's form of address, cf. iii. i. 198: "King Philip, 
listen to the cardinal; " and again in 219: "Do so, King Philip ; 
.hang no more in doubt." As Clarke remarks, the reply of John, 
" I do defy thee France^'' appears conclusively to settle the point 
that we ought to assign the present speech to King Philip. 

160. It. This old possessive it (or yt) is found fourteen times 
in the ist folio, and it is curious that in seven of these it is in the 
combination it ozvn. It is to be noted also that in the only in- 
stance in which its appears in the Bible (^Leviticus, xxv. 5), the ed. 
of 161 1 has "it owne ; " and in the Geneva version of 1557 we 
find " it owne accorde " in Acts, xii. 10. So in Sylvester's Du 
Bartas, 1605 : — 

" Much like a Candle fed with it owne humour, 
By little and little it owne selfes consumer," 

These and similar instances would seem to show that the old pos- 
sessive it was often retained in this expression after it had gone out 
of general use ; and they justify us in assuming that it own is what 
S. probably wrote here. Its own (or ifs own^, of which we have 
a solitary instance in W. T. i. 2. 266, may be the printer's variation 
from the MS. ; though it is not improbable that the poet may have 
written it so. It is evident from the number of times that its occurs 
in that play and in Temp., written about the same time (seven out 
of the ten instances of its in the folio are in those two plays), that 
he was getting into the way of using the new pronoun, and he 



i6o Notes [Act II 

might write its own intentionally in one passage and it oivn inad- 
vertently or from force of habit in another. In the present passage 
it is apparently used in imitation of the language of children, or the 
"baby-talk" of mothers to their children. 

165. Coil. Ado, disturbance. Cf. Much Ado, iii. 3. 100, v. 2. 
Zl, M. N. D. iii. 2. 339, etc. 

169, Pearls. S. is fond of comparing tears to pearls. Cf. V. 
and A. 980, R. of L. 1213, 1553, Sonn. 34. 13, T. G. of V. iii. i. 
224, Rich. III. iv. 4. 322, and Lear, iv. 3. 24. 

171. Beads. Cf. /. C. iii. I. 284: "those beads of sorrow." 
rieay sees a play on beads of a rosary. 

177. Ela^sf. This harsh contraction of superlatives is common 
in S. It is rarely, if ever, required by the metre ; but it seems to 
have been a fashion of the time. 

178. Infortunate. Used by S. occasionally instead of unfortu- 
nate ; as incertaiit, ingrateful, insociable, etc. 

180. The canon of the lazv. See Exodus, xx. 5. 

181. Generation. Metrically five syllables. See on i. I. 208 
above, and cf. 197 below. 

183. Bedla77i. Lunatic ; from Bedlam (or Bethleheni) Hospital 
in London ; but, as instances of the word are found earlier than 
the foundation of that hospital in 1547, this etymology has been 
doubted. It is certain, however, that the ancient priory of Bethle- 
hem was an asylum for lunatics as early as 1402, though it did not 
become a royal foundation until the time of Henry VIII. Cf. 
Lear, iii. 7. 103 : " get the Bedlam To lead him," etc. 

184. That he is 7iot only plagued, etc. Another Chinese puzzle 
for the critics (see on i. i. 139 above). The folio gives the 
passage thus : — 

" Con. I haue but this to say, 
That he is not onely plagued for her sin, 
But God hath made her sinne and her, the plague 
On this remoued issue, plagued for her. 
And with her plague her sinne : his iniury 



Scene I] Notes l6l 

Her iniurie the Beadle to her sinne, 
All punish'd in the person of this childe, 
And all for her, a plague vpon her." 

The pointing in the text (adopted by Knight, the Cambridge editors 
and others) seems the best that has been suggested. The passage 
is then explained thus : " God hath made her sin and herself to be 
a plague to this distant child, who is punished for her and with the 
punishment belonging to her ; God has made her sin to be an in- 
jury to Arthur, and her injurious deeds to be the executioner to 
punish her sin ; all which (namely, her first sin and her now inju- 
rious deeds) are punished in the person of this child." 
Singer points the lines thus : — 

" But God hath made her sin and her the plague 
On this removed issue ; — plagu'd for her, 
And with her plagu'd; her sin, his injury; 
Her injury, the beadle to her sin : " etc., 

which he explains as follows : " Young Arthur is here represented 
as not only su^ering from the guilt of his grandmother, but also by 
Aer in person, she being made the very instrument of his sufferings. 
So that he is plagued on her account, and plagued with her, that is, 
by her. Her sin brings upon him his injury, or the evil he suffers ; 
and her injury, or the evil she inflicts, is as the beadle to her sin, or 
executioner of the punishment annexed to it." 

The only other reading and interpretation worth mentioning is 
that of Fleay, who gives 

" But God hath made her sin and her the plague 
On this removed issue ; plagu'd for her, 
And with her plague, her sin : his injury 
Her injury, the beadle to her sin : " etc. 

His explanation is : " Plagued on her account, and by means of her 
wrong-doing, which is a plague inflicted by her (cf. her sin, the 
plague, in line 185) ; the injury inflicted on him, the injury inflicted 

KING JOHN — II 



1 62 Notes [Act II 

by her, being the beadle, the chastlser (in Arthur's sufferings) of 
her original wrong-doing." 

191. Unadvised. See on 45 above. 

192. Will. There is a play upon the word. 

194. Canker' d. Venomous, malignant ; as in i Hen, IV. i. 3. 
137: "ingrate and canker'd Bolingbroke," etc. 

196. Cry aim. Encourage; "an expression borrowed from 
archery = to encourage the archers by crying out aim when they 
were about to shoot, and then in a general sense to applaud, to en- 
courage with cheers" (Schmidt). Cf. M. W, iii. 2. 45 : "to these 
violent proceedings all my neighbours shall cry aim." See also 
Id. ii. 3. 93. 

197. Ill-tuned repetitions. Discordant recriminations. Repeti- 
tions is metrically equivalent to five syllables. See on 181 above; 
also on iv. 2. 125 below. 

198. Trumpet. Trumpeter. See on i. i. 27 above. 

205. Gentle parle. Friendly parley. For /^r/^, cf. 226 below. 

206. For our advantage. On our behalf. 

207. Advanced. Raised, lifted up ; as often. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 408 : 
" The fringed curtains of thine eye advance," etc. 

209. Endamagement. Injury. S. uses the noun only here, but 
we find the verb endamage in T. G. of V. iii. 2, 43 and i Hen. VI. 
ii. I. 77. 

215. Confronts your. The ist and 2d folios have "Comfort 
yours," the 3d and 4th " Comfort your ; " corrected by Capell. 
Winking = shut hastily, in apprehension of danger. 

217. DotA. The form may be explained by the proximity of 
waist. Cf. iii. i. 295 below: "The peril of our curses light on 
thee." 

218. Ordinance. Ordnance ; as in Hen. V, ii. 4. 126. Else- 
where S. has ordnance ; as in T. of S. i. 2. 204, Hen. V. iii. chor. 
26, etc. 

220. Dishabited. Dislodged ; used by S. only here. 
223. Expedient. See on 60 above. 



Scene I] Notes 163 

228. A shaking fever. Cf. Macb. ii. 3. 66 : — 

" some say, the earth 
Was feverous and did shake." 

See also Cor. i. 4. 61. 

229. Words folded up in sinoke. Malone compares ^. ^yZ. 1027 : 
" This helpless smoke of words doth me no right." See also Id. 
1042 and L. L. L. iii i. 64. 

230. To make, etc. That is, to deceive your ears, to delude you. 
233. Forwearied. Wearied out, exhausted ; used by S. only 

here. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. i. 32: "Ye all forwearied be; " Id. i. 
9. 13 : " Forwearied with my sportes," etc. 

236. Protection. A quadrisyllable. See on 181 and 197 above. 

237. Divinely. " Religiously " (246 below), sacredly. 

247. Owe. In the modern sense ; but in the next line = owns, 
is entitled to, as in 109 above. 

250. Aspect. The regular accent in S. 

253. Unvex'd retire. Unmolested return. For the noun, cf. 326 
and V. 5. 4 below. 

256. Spout. Cf. T. and C. iv. 5. 10: "let thy eyes spout 
blood," etc. 

258. Fondly pass. Foolishly disregard or reject. Proffer'' d offer 
has been suspected of corruption, and " love," " favour," " terms," 
etc., have been suggested in place of offer ; but proffer'' d offer may 
be a more emphatic proffer or offer, or a mere inadvertence of 
composition. 

259. Roundure. Round or circle (Fr. rondeur'). The folios 
have "rounder," which indicates the pronunciation. We have 
rondure in Sonn. 21. 8. 

264. In that behalf which. That is, in which ; a common ellip- 
sis in relative clauses. 

266. Possession. A quadrisyllable. See on l8i and 197 above, 
and cf. ocean in 340 below. 

268. For him, etc. Cf. the old play : " to him will we remain 
firm subjects, and for him, and in his right, we hold our town." 



164 Notes [Act II 

278. Bloods. "Men of mettle" (Schmidt). Cf./. C. i. 2. 151 : 
" the breed of noble bloods." See also 461 below. 

281. Compound. Agree, decide; as in Hen. V.'vj. 3. 80, iv. 6. 
33. etc. 

288. Swing' d. Whipped, conquered. Cf. T. G. of V. ii. i. 88, 
iii. I. 392, M. for M.\. i. 130, etc, St. George and the Dragon 
was a common sign for inns and ale-houses, as it still is in England. 

289. Horse back. As one word (" horsebacke ") in the folio. 
See p. 134 above. 

292. / would set an ox-head^ etc. Steevens quotes the old 

play : — 

" But let the frolick Frenchman take no scorn, 
If Philip front him with an English horn." 

On monster, cf. 0th. iv. i. (yT^: "A horned man 's a monster," etc. 
See also on i. i. 219 above. 

306. Discolour'' d. The folio has " discoloured." See on i. 1.4 
above. 

309. Display' d. Suggested by the banners (see 320 below), 
though referring in a way to the French. 

314. Malicious. Malignant, destructive. 

316. Gilt. Stained. Cf. Macb. ii. 2. 56 : "I '11 gild the faces of 
the grooms," etc. 

318. Staff. Lance ; as in Macb. v. 3. 48, v. 7. 18, etc. 

321. Like a jolly troop of huntsmen, etc. Hunters used to stain 
their hands with the blood of the deer as a badge of their success, 
Cf.y. C. iii. I. 204: — 

" Here wast thou bay'd, brave hart, 
Here didst thou fall ; and here thy hunters stand, / 
Sign'd in thy spoil, and crimson'd in thy lethe." 

323. Dying. There is an obvious play upon the word. The 
pun was a common one. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Heywood, 
EpigramSf 1562: "Dyers be ever dying, but never dead;" and 
Davies, Scourge of Folly, 161 1 : — 



Scene I] Notes 165 

" Turbine the dyer stalkes before his dore, 
Like Caesar, that by dying oft did thrive ; 
And though the beggar be as proud as pore, 
Yet (like the mortifide) he dyes to live." 

325. Might. Could ; as often. The folios give the speeches 
of this Citizen to ^^ HubT (Hubert), a mistake probably due to 
the fact that both parts w^ere taken by the same actor. 

326. Retire. Retreat. See on 253 above. 

328. Censured. Judged, determined. Cf.y. C. iii. 2. 16: "Cen- 
sure me in your wisdom," etc. See also the noun = judgment, 
Macb. v. 4. 14, etc. 

The cannot is not strictly consistent with the context. The 
meaning clearly is that the equality of the two armies is evident, or 
both are alike ; the best judges cannot see any variation from the 
equality. 

335. Run, The ist folio has " rome," changed in the 2d to 
" runne." White prefers " roam," as agreeing better with the 
peaceful progress. He believes that S. had in mind the same 
stream that suggested the beautiful description in T. G. of V. ii. 7. 
25—32. Here, however, roam does not seem to fit the comparison 
so well as run. " The king would rather describe his right as run- 
ning on in a direct than in an irregular course, such as would be 
implied in the word roam'''' (Steevens). Cf. also the very similar 
passage in v. 4. 53-57, where we have 

" calmly run on in obedience 
Even to our ocean, to our great King John." 

336. Vex'd. Disturbed. Cf. Lear, iv. 4. 2: "the vex'd sea." 
See also Temp. i. 2. 229 and R. and J. i. i. 198. 

340. Ocean. A trisyllable ; as in iv. 3. 132 below and T, G. of 
V. ii. 7. 32. Cf. Milton, Hymn on Nativ. 66 : " Whispering new 
joys to the mild ocean." 

344. Climate. Here apparently = sky, heavens. For its use = 
country, region, see Rich. II. iv. i. 130: "a Christian climate," etc. 



i66 Notes [Act II 

354. Mousing. Tearing, as a cat does a mouse. Cf. M. N. D, 
V. I. 274: "Well moused, lion! " Malone cites Dekker, Wonder- 
ful Year, 1603: "Whilst Troy was swilling sack and sugar, and 
mousing fat venison, the mad Greekes made bonfires of their 
houses." 

355. Differences. Quarrels, dissensions. Cf. iii. i. 238 below. 

356. Fronts. Brows, faces. Cf. I/a?n. iii. 4. 56: "the front of 
Jove," etc. 

357. Cry havoc ! The signal that no quarter was to be given. 
Cf. Cor. iii. i. 275 : — 

" Do not cry havoc, where you should but hunt 
With modest warrant." 

See also/. C. iii. i. 273, Ham. v. 2. 375, etc. 

358. Potents. Potentates, powers ; the only instance of the 
noun in S. 

367. Lord of our presence. " Master of our own identity or 
individuality" (Clarke). See on i. i. 137 above. 

368. A greater power than we. The reference maybe to "the 
Lord of hosts, who has not yet decided the superiority of either 
army; and till it be undoubted the people of Anglers will not 
open their gates" (Toilet). If this be not the meaning, \h.Q. power 
must be our fears. All the folios assign this speech to the French 
king. 

371. Xing' d of. Ruled by. Cf. Hen. V. ii. 4. 26: "so idly 
king'd." Resolv'd = ^&\. at rest. Cf. its use = dissolved, in v. 4. 
25 below. 

373. Scroyles. Scabby fellows (Fr. escrouelles') ; a term of great 
contempt. Taylor the Water-Poet speaks of a " hungry sawcy 
scroyle." Cf. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, i. i. "hang 
'em, scroyles ! " and Poetaster, iv. 3 : " I cry thee mercy, my good 
scroyle, wast thou ? " 

376. Industrious. Capell conjectured " illustrious ; " but, as 
Steevens remarks, the expression is = " your laborious industry of 
war." 



Scene I] Notes 167 

378. Mutines. Mutineers, rebels. Cf. Ham. v. 2. 6 : " the mu- 
tines in the bilboes." Mutiner occurs in Cor, i. I. 254. Malone 
cites a History of the Jews, written in Hebrew by Joseph Ben 
Gorion, and translated into English by Peter Morwyn, 1575, which 
tells how three factions in Jerusalem, which had been engaged 
in "most cruel battailes" with one another, made peace, "intending 
to turne their cruelty upon the Romaines, confirming and ratifying 
the same atonement and purpose by swearing one to another," etc. 
S. had probably read this book, as the allusion is not in the old 
play. 

383. Soul-fearing. Soul-affrighting. For fear — cause to fear, 
cf. i^. ofV. ii. I. 9: — 

" I tell thee, lady, this aspect of mine 
Hath fear'd the valiant," etc. 

a. fearful in iv. 2. 106 below. 

385. Jades. The word meant originally a worthless or vicious 
horse. Cf. V. and A. 391, y. C. iv. 2. 26, etc. For the masculine 
use of the word as applied to persons, cf. T. of S. ii. i. 202. 

387. Vulgar. General, common to all. 

392. Minion. Darling, favourite (Fr. mignon). Cf. Temp. iv. 
I. 98: "Mars's hot minion," etc. 

395. States. Princes, rulers. Cf. T. and C. ii. 3. 118: "this 
noble state" (retinue of princes); Id. iv. 5. 65 : "you state of 
Greece," etc. 

396. The policy. " That which you call policy " (Schmidt) ; or 
"the politic art, the art of Machiavel" (Fleay). 

398. Knit. Join, unite ; as in iii. i. 226 below. 

400. Fight who shall. Fight to decide who shall. As Abbott 
(^Grammar, 382) remarks, "the Elizabethan writers objected to 
scarcely any ellipsis, provided the deficiency could be easily sup- 
plied from the context." After — afterwards ; as in Temp. ii. 2. 
10, etc. 

401. Mettle. The early eds. make no distinction between mettle 



1 68 Notes [Act II 

and metal, using either for the literal or the metaphorical meaning. 
Thus, in Rich. II. i. 2. 23, the quartos have " mettall " or " mettal," 
the folios " mettle." 

402. Peevish. Foolish ; perhaps the only sense in S. 

404. Saucy, Impudent, insolent ; used by S. in a stronger sense 
than the modern one. Cf. J. C. i. 3. 12: "the world, too saucy 
with the gods," etc. See also Macb. iii. 4. 25, y. C. i. 3. 12, 0th. i. 
I. 129, etc. 

406. Pell-mell. Cf. Rich. III. v. 3. 312: "let 's to 't pell-mell." 

41 1. Thunder. Some editors read " thunders ; " but the word 
may be used collectively = cannon. 

412. Drift. Driving shower. 

421. Persever. The regular spelling and accent in S. Cf. A. 
W, iv. 2. 36, 37, where it rhymes with ever. 

424. Niece. The folios have " neere " or " near," which some 
retain and defend as = nearly related. 

425. Dauphin. It is "Dolphin" in the folios, as elsewhere; 
and that spelling indicates the pronunciation of the time. Cf. 
I Hen. VI. i. 4. 107, where there is a play on the word and the 
name of the fish. 

426. Lusty. " Full of animal life and spirits " (Schmidt) ; as 
in 255 above and 461 below. 

428. Zealous. Explained by Johnson and Schmidt as = pious, 
religious ; which is favoured by the antithesis. 

431. Bound. Confine, enclose ; as in 442 below. 

434. Complete of. "That is, full of those qualities" (Schmidt) ; 
complete thereof or therein. Some editors read " complete, O 
say." 

438. A she. The folios have " as she ; " but the analogy of 
other passages in S. favours Thirlby's emendation, which has been 
generally adopted. 

For the idea that woman was completed or perfected by mar- 
riage, cf. T. N.\. I. 38 fol. and ii. 4. 42. See also Lord Berners's 
translation of Froissart : " my daughter should be happy if she 



Scene I] Notes 169 

might come to so great a perfection as to be conjoined in marriage 
with the Earl of Guerles ; " Overbury, The Wife : — 

" Marriage their object is ; their being then, 
And now perfection, they receive from men ; " 

and Donne, Epithalaniium: — 

" Weep not, nor blush, here is no grief nor shame ; 
To-day put on perfection, and a woman's name." 

446. Battery. Battering, assault. 

447. Match. Johnson is " loath to think " that there is a play 
on the word. There may not be ; but there is worse quibbling in 
S., particularly in the earlier plays. 

448. Spleen. See on 68 above ; and cf. iv. 3. 97 and v. 7. 50 
below. 

455. Stay. Check, obstacle ; a word that has been a stumbling- 
block to the commentators. See a page and a half of discussion 
in the Varioru?n of 1821. Schmidt explains it as "the imperative 
of the verb used substantively." The Citizen has begun (416) by 
saying " vouchsafe awhile to stay.^^ Some make stay = support, 
prop ; and Clarke thinks there may be an indirect reference to 
that sense of the word : " That a restraint and a support should be 
personified sufficiently to be supposed capable of shaking ' the rot- 
ten carcass of old Death ' is not beyond the license of poetry in 
figurative language." "Flaw," "say," "story," "storm," etc., have 
been suggested, but no change is necessary. 

462. He speaks plain cannon fire, etc. Cf. Hen. V. v. 2. 156: 
"I speak to thee plain soldier." See also Much Ado, ii. i. 255, 
343, Ham. iii. 2. 414, etc. Bounce = " bang." 

465. Buffets. Boxes ; as in Hen. V. v. 2. 146 : " if I might 
buffet for my love," etc. 

466. Zounds. Like ^swounds (Ham. ii. 2. 604, v. i. 297), con- 
tracted from " God's wounds ! " 

468. Conjunction. Connection, union ; as in iii. i. 227 below. 
Capell marks 468-479 as " Aside to JohnP 



lyo Notes [Act li 

471. Unsur'd. "Unsure" (iii. i. 283 below), unassured. 

476. Capable. Susceptible. Cf. iii. i. 12 below. 

477. Lesi zeal, etc. Steevens thought that zeal is compared to 

" metal in a state of fusion," not to dissolving ice, as Johnson had 

explained it. Malone paraphrases the passage thus : " Lest the 

now zealous and to you well-affected heart of Philip, which but 

lately was cold and hard as ice, and has newly been melted and 

softened, should by the breath of supplications of Constance, and 

pity for Arthur, again become congealed and frozen." Cf. iii. 4. 149 

below : — 

" This act so evilly born shall cool the hearts 

Of all his people and freeze up their zeal." 

White makes /z/y and remorse the subject of cool and congeal. 

481. Treaty. Here = proposal tending to a treaty or agree- 
ment ; as in Cor. ii. 2. 59 and A. and C. iii. ii. 62. 

485. This book of beauty. For the metaphor, cf. R. and J. i. 3. 
87 : " This precious book of love, this unbound lover ; " and see 
Id. iii. 2. %ly 0th. iv. 2. 71, etc. Malone compares Macb. i. 5. 63. 

492. Promotions. A quadrisyllable. See on 266 above. 

494. Holds hand with. Goes hand in hand with, equals. 

498. Shadow. Reflection; as in V. and A. 162: — 

" Narcissus so himself himself forsook, 
And died to kiss his shadow in the brook." 

See also Id. 1099, Mch. II. iv. i. 293 (where there is a play upon 
shadow, as here), andy. C. i. 2. 58. 

502. Infixed. Imprinted. Cf. A. W. v. 3. 47: "Where the 
impression of mine eye infixing," etc. 

503. Table. Tablet, or that on which a picture is drawn or 
painted. Cf. Sonn. 24. 2 : — 

" Mine eye hath play'd the painter and hath stell'd 
Thy beauty's form in table of my heart ; " 

and A, W. i. i. 106 ; — 



Scene I] Notes 171 

" to sit and draw 
His arched brows, his hawking eye, his curls, 
In our heart's table." 

In the speech that follows, there is an allusion to the punishment 
of " drawing, hanging, and quartering." For similar quibbles, see 
Much Ado, iii. 2. 22, M.for M. ii. i. 215, etc. 

513. Translate it to my will. Cf. AI. W. i. 3. 54 : "He hath 
studied her will, and translated her will, out of honesty into Eng- 
lish." See also A. V. L. ii. i. 19. 

527. Volquessen. The old name of a part of Normandy (the 
Latin Pagus Velocassinus) more recently known as Le Vexin. 
Cf. the old play : — 

" lohn. First, Philip knows her dowry out of Spaine, 
To be so great as to content a king : 
But more to mend and amplify the same, 
I give in money thirty thousand marks. 
For land I leave it to thine own demand. 

Phil. Then I demand Volquesson, Torain, Main, 
Poiters, and Anion, these five provinces, 
Which thou, as King of England, hold'st in France." 

530. Marks. The mark was worth 13 shillings 4 pence. 
^2>2./oin hands. That is, for the formal betrothal. See quota- 
tion in note on 534 below. 

533. Likes. Pleases. Cf. Ham. v. 2. 276 : "This likes me 
well," etc. 

534. And your lips too. This was also a part of the ceremony 
of betrothal. See 7". A^. v. i. 159 : — 

" A contract of eternal bond of love, 
Confirm'd by mutual joinder of your hands, 
Attested by the holy close of lips, 
Strengthen'd by interchangement of your rings," etc. 

535. Assur'd. Affianced. The repetition with a play on the 
word is quite in the poet's manner. Cf, 247, 248, and 498-500 above. 

538. Saint Mary's chapel. This is said to be the so-called 



172 Notes [Act II 

Church of Ronceray, dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin in 1028 
and re-dedicated in 11 19 by Pope Calixtus II. It is now used as 
a chapel for the students of the School of Arts. 

544. Passionate. Full of passion or sorrow. Cf. T. G. of V. 
i. 2. 124; "Poor, forlorn Proteus, passionate Proteus." Passion 
often = sorrow ; as in L, L. L. v. 2. 118 : "passion's solemn 
tears," etc. 

550. Vantage. Advantage ; as in Sonn. 88. 12, Rich. II. i. 3. 
218, etc. 

558. Exclamation. Outcry, vociferous opposition. Qi.iHen.IV. 
ii. I. 88 : " What man of good temper would endure this tempest 
of exclamation ?" See also R, of L. 705, Rich. II. iv. 4. 153, etc. 

563. Departed with. Parted with. Cf. Z. L. L. ii. i» 147 : 
"Which we much rather had depart withal," etc. See also Jonson, 
Every Man out of his Humour, iv. 7 : " Faith, sir, I can hardly 
depart with ready money ; " Two Noble Kinsmen, ii. i : " I may 
depart with little while I live," etc. Depart was also often = part, 
separate; as in 3 Hen. VI. ii. 6. 43 : " life and death's departing." 
In the English Marriage Service " till death us do part " was 
originally " till death us depart ; " as in an old play quoted by 
Nares : " Aye, till death us depart, love." Cf. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 
10. 14 : " Which Severne now from Logris doth depart." 

566. Routided. Whispered ; as in W. T. i. 2. 217 : "whisper- 
ing, rounding," etc. 

568. Broker. Go-between ; as in 582 below. There is a play 
on the word in breaks. 

573, Commodity. Self-interest. Tickling = flattering, cajoling. 

574. Bias. An allusion to the game of bowls. Cf. T. of S. iv. 

5«25: — 

" thus the bowl shall run, 

And not unluckily against the bias." 
Henderson quotes Cupid's Whirligig, 1607: — 

" Oh, the world is like a byas bowle, and it runs 
All on the rich men's sides." 



Scene I] 



Notes 



173 



The eye (583) was the hole in which the weight was put to give the 
bowl its bias. 

575. Peized. Poised, balanced. Cf. M. of V. iii. 2. 22 : "to 
peize the time " (that is, to retard it, as if by hanging weights on 
it). In Rich. III. v. 3. 105, "peize me down" = weigh me down. 
Who = which ; as often. 

579. Take head from. Take its own course away from. Indif- 
ferency = straightforwardness, impartiality. Schmidt makes it = 
" moderate measure ; " as in the only other instance of the word in 
S. (2 Jlen. IV. iv. 3. 23). 

584, Aid. Changed by some to " aim ; " but determined aid 
may be = the aid that he had determined to give. 

587. Rail on. S. uses on or upo7t with rail much oftener than 
at or against. 

588. But for because. Only because. Cf. 591 just below. 

589. Chitch. Close tightly. Cf. J/. >r Af. iii. 2. 50 : " putting 
the hand in the pocket and extracting it clutched." 

590. Angels, The gold coin so called. Its value was about ten 
shillings. On one side was a figure of Michael piercing the dragon. 




Golden Angel of Queen Elizabeth 



The device is said to have been suggested by Pope Gregory's pun 
on Angli and Angeli. For the quibble here, cf. M. W. i. 3. 60, 
Muck Ado, ii. 3. 35, and 2 Hen. IV. i. 2. 187. 



174 



Notes 



[Act III 



591. Unattempted. Not tempted. So <7//^;/^// = tempt ; 
M. of V. iv. I. 421 : " I must attempt you further," etc. 
593. Whiles. See on 87 above. 
597. Upon commodity. That is, when it is for their interest. 



as in 




Philip of France 



ACT III 

Scene I. — 5. Be well advised. Consider well what you say. 
Cf. advised = considerate, in iv. 2. 214 below. 

12. Capable of. Susceptible of. Cf. ii. i. 476 above. 

14. Subject. Liable. Fleay takes it to be the participle, like. 
waft in ii. i. 73 above. 



Scene I] Notes 175 

17* Spirits. Monosyllabic; as often. Take a truce withz::^ 
make a truce with, pacify, or quiet; as in R. and J. iii. i. 162, 
etc. 

19. Shaking of. Cf./. C. v. 3. 38: "saving of thy life," etc. 

22. Rheum. Moisture ; often, as here, applied to tears. Cf. 
Much Ado, V. 2. 85, Rich. II. i. 4. 8, Cor. v. 6. 46, Ham. ii. 2. 529, 
etc. See also iv. i. -^t, and iv. 3. 108 below. 

23. Peering o'er. " Overpeering " (^M. of V.i. I. 12, Zr<2w. iv. 
5. 99, etc.), rising above. 

27. " The way in which Salisbury's character is drawn, refined in 
speech, gentle in manner, has fitness as well as beauty ; he was son 
to King Henry II. by Rosamond Clifford, surnamed *Fair Rosa- 
mond'" (Clarke). 

33. Which. Who ; or we may say that the relative refers in a 
way to hoih. fury and men. 

41. As. Cf. 296 below: " So heavy as thou shalt not," etc. 

42, Be content. Be calm ; as in Rich. II. v. 2. 82, etc. 

Clarke remarks here : "The boy's artless appeals to his mother 
amidst her vehement indignation and passionate lamentation, a 
compound of maternal ambition and maternal love, should have 
sufficed to teach her heart the lesson so subtly inculcated by the 
poet, that ambitious projects indulged for the sake of a being 
beloved, until they merge affection in violence and absorbing pur- 
pose, gradually undermine love in the bosom of the one beloved. 
It is curious to observe how little of tenderness there is in Arthur 
towards his mother, as response to all the passionate (but vehe- 
mently and even violently passionate) love she lavishes upon him." 
It is doubtful, however, whether the passage will justify this infer- 
ence that Arthur was lacking in love for his mother. As Marshall 
remarks, he "was naturally alarmed at her vehemence, and gently 
and respectfully seeks to calm her agitation." 

45. Sightless. Unsightly. It means invisible in Macb. i. 5. 50 
and i. 7. 23. On blots, cf. R. of L. 537: "birth-hour's blot." 

46. Swart. Swarthy, dark ; as in C. of E. iii. 2. 104 and 



176 Notes [Act III 

I Hen» VI. i. 2. 84. Cf. swart-complexioned in Sonn. 28. Ii. 
Prodigious = monstrous, unnatural. Cf. Rich. III. i. 2. 22 : — 

" If ever he have child, abortive be it, 
Prodigious, and untimely brought to light, 
Whose ugly and unnatural aspect 
May fright the hopeful mother at the view," etc. 

a. prodigiously in 91 below. 

56. Adulterates. Commits adultery ; the only instance of the 
verb in S. Cf. the adjective in Ham. i. 5. 42, etc. 

65. Underbear. Bear, endure ; as in Rich. II. i. 4. 29 : " And 
patient underbearing of his fortune." 

69. Stoop. That is, stoop to grief (Malone). " Feeling herself 
bowed down by grief, sinking beneath the load of her sorrows and 
injuries, she may well say that she will teach them to be proud, to 
resist the pride of grief v^Mxq^sx makes her stoop to its overpowering 
weight. She feels herself physically giving way under the load of 
the burden laid upon her ; and with her rich imagination converts 
the earth to which she is compelled to stoop into a supporter and 
throne'''' (Clarke). 

70. State. Royal state or dignity ; not mere condition. 

73. Sorrows. Changed by Pope to "sorrow." Jackson would 
take the poetry out of the passage by reading " in sorrow." 
78. Plays the alchemist, etc. Cf. Sonn. '^t^. i : — 

" Full many a glorious morning have I seen, 
Flatter the mountain-tops with sovereign eye. 
Kissing with golden face the meadows green, 
Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy." 

Steevens remarks that Milton has borrowed the image in P. L. iii. 
609 : " The arch-chemic sun," etc. 

86. High tides. Great days, "high festivals" (i Hen. VI. i. 6. 
26). 

87. Nay, rather, etc. Alluding \.o Job, iii. 3 and v. 6 (Upton). 
92, But, Except. Wrack is the only spelling in the early eds. 



Scene ij Notes 177 

It rhymes with back in R. of L. 841, 966, Sonn. \2.(i. 5, and Macb. 
V. 5. 51 ; and with alack in Per. iv. prol. 12. 

99. Counterfeit. The word meant a portrait (see M. of V, iii. 
2. 115: "Fair Portia's counterfeit," etc.) as well as a false coin; 
and perhaps the two senses are blended here. 

100. Touched and tried. Alluding to the use of the touchstone 
in testing counterfeit coin. Cf. Rich. III. iv. 2. 8, T. of A. iii. 3. 
6, iv. 3. 390, etc. 

103. In arms. In embraces. There is a play on in arms in 
the preceding line. 

105. Painted. Feigned, simulated. 

107, Arm, ar?n, etc. " This grandly wild appeal of an outraged 
mother has its sublime parallel in that of the outraged father, Lear ; 
where he invokes the heavens to make his cause their own, because 
themselves are old" (Clarke). 

no. Sunset. Fleay reads "sun set," on the ground that S. 
accents sunset on the first syllable. In 3 Hen. VI. ii. 2. 116, it is 
sunset, but that is " counted out " as not by S. The only other pas- 
sages in which the noun occurs are Sonn. 73. 6 and R. and J. iii. 
5. 127. 

114. O Lymoges ! O Austria ! S. follows the old play in mak- 
ing one personage out of two enemies of Coeur-de-lion. " Leopold, 
duke of Austria, threw him into prison in a former expedition [in 
1193] ; but the castle of Chaluz, before which he fell [in 1199], 
belonged to Vidomar, viscount of Lymoges ; and the archer who 
pierced his shoulder with an arrow (of which wound he died) was 
Bertrand de Gourdon" (Steevens). 

119. Humorous. Capricious. Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 3. 8 : "her 
humorous ladyship " (Fortune), etc. 

121. Sooth^st up. Flatterest. Cf. Cor. i. 9. 44 : "Made all of 
false-fac'd soothing," etc. 

122. Ramping. Rampant. Cf. i Hen. IV. iii. i. 153 : "a 
ramping cat ; " and 3 Hen. VI. v. 2. 13 : "a ramping lion." 

123. Party. See on i. i. 34 above. 

KING JOHN — 12 



178 Notes [Act III 

127. Fall over. Go over, desert. 

129. A calfs skin. It is said that the domestic foois used to 
wear calf-skin, but here the meaning probably is that a calf-skin 
would suit his recreant limbs better than a lion^s (Ritson). 

130. Should. Would; as not unfrequently. 

135. Pandulph. At this time he was only an envoy, not legate^ 
of the pope. According to Holinshed, he was made bishop of 
Norwich in 121 9, but this is not mentioned by other authorities. 

141. Against. The only instance of spurn against in S. 
Schmidt compares Acts, ix. 5 : " kick against the pricks." We 
find spurn at in V. and ^.311, C. of E. ii. 2. 136, and Ham. iv. 
5.6; and spurn upon in Rich. III. i. 2. 42. 

142. Force perforce. An emphatic form oi perforce ■= hy force 
or violence ; used also in 2 Hen. IV. iv. i. 1 16 and 2 Hen. VI. 
i. I. 258. In 2 Hen. IV. iv. 4. 46, it is = of necessity. 

145. Foresaid. Not " 'foresaid," as often printed. 

147. Earthly. The folio has " earthie," which is probably a 
misprint for " earthlie," as most of the modern editors consider it. 
The folio has "earthy " in the same sense in Rich. II. \. 3. 69, but 
the quartos have " earthly." The Cambridge ed. and Fleay retain 
" earthy " here. 

Interrogatories. Questions asked on oath ; as in M. of V. 
V. I. 298, 300, and A. W. iv. 3. 207. S. uses the word only in these 
passages and Cymb. v. 5. 392. The folio has " intergatories " in all 
but the last, and most modern eds. give "inter'gatories" there. 

151. The pope. That is, the pope's, or that of the pope. 

154. Toll. Take toll, levy a tax. In A. W. v. 3. 149, it means 
to pay toll. 

169. Revenue. Accented on the second syllable. See p. 134 
above. 

173. Excommufticate. For the form, cf. i Hen. IV. v. i. 72 : 
" These things indeed you have articulate," etc. 

177. Canonized. The accent on the second syllable, as else- 
where in S. Cf. iii. 4. 52 below. 



Scene I] Notes 179 

180. Room with Rome. This shows that Rome was pronounced 
like room. Cf. _/. C. i. 2. 156: "Now is it Rome indeed and room 
enough," etc. In R. of L. 715, it rhymes to dooju, and in Id. 1644 
to groom. But it would seem to have had sometimes the modern 
pronunciation. Cf. i. Hen. VI. iii. i. 51 : — 

" Winchester. Rome shall remedy this. 
Warwick. Roam thither, then." 

201. Your breeches, etc. Steevens remarks: "Perhaps there is 
something proverbial in this sarcasm, Cf. the old play of King 
Leir, 1605 : — 

' Well I have a payre of slops for the nonce, 
Will hold all your mocks.' " 

For slops = breeches, cf. Much Ado, iii. 2. 36 : "a German from 
the waist downward, all slops." See also 2 Hen. IV. i. 2. 34 and 
R. and J. ii. 4. 47. 

204. Bethink you. Consider, reflect ; as in M. for M. ii. 2. 87, 
144, etc. 

209. Untrimmed. The reading of the folio, which Schmidt 
makes = " divested of her wedding-gown." It probably refers to 
her sudden and unexpected nuptials and the haste in which they 
were performed. Dyce suggested " uptrimmed," comparing R, 
and J. iv. 4. 24 : " Go waken Juliet, go and trim her up ; " but in 
this case, as White remarks, "there was no time to trim Blanch 
up." He adds : " The obvious allusion, too, to the temptation of 
Saint Anthony makes it clear that the old text is correct. It is 
of course not intimated that Blanch was then and there in a con- 
dition approaching that in which the temptress of Saint Anthony is 
generally supposed to have won the victory for the Devil. Con- 
stance's epithet has at once a slight taint of womanish spite and 
a forward look for Lewis." Some see in untrimmed an allusion to 
the fact that brides used to go to church with their hair dishev- 
elled. Cf. Spenser, Prothalamion, 22 : — 



i8o Notes [Act III 

" locks, all loose untyde, 
As each had beene a Bryde ; " 

and Webster, White Devil : — 

" Let them dangle loose 
As a bride's hair." 

Fleay cites Tancred and Gisfnunda, v. 2 : — 

" So let thy tresses, flaring in the wind 
Untrimmed hang about thy bared neck ; " 

and Id. v. 3 : " O let me dress up those untrimmed locks." For 
trimmed =" %mzxt\y dressed," see T. G. of V. iv. 4. 166 and 
3 Hen. VI. ii. i. 24. Here untrimmed is confirmed by ii. I. 560 
above. 

212. Faith. Your pledged faith to me. 

225. Bestow yourself. Behave yourself, conduct yourself, act. 
Cf. T. G.ofV.\\\. 1.87: — 

" How and which way I may bestow myself, 
To be regarded in her sun-bright eye." 

See also A. V. L. iv. 3. 87. 

233. But new before. Only just before it. 

235. To clap this royal bargain up. Cf. T. of S. ii. I. 327 : 
" Was ever match clapp'd up so suddenly ? " The allusion is to 
clapping hands, or joining hands, in token of mutual pledge of 
faith. Cf. Hen. V. v. 2, 133 : "And so clap hands, and a bargain." 
The expression is particularly associated with the ancient betrothal. 
Cf. W. T. i. 2. 104 : " clap thyself my love," etc. 

238. Difference. See on ii. i. 355 above. 

240. In both. That is, in both their bloody hostility and their 
new love. 

241. Regreet. Greeting, salutation; as in M. of V. ii. 9.89: 
"sensible regreets." For the verb, see Rich. II. i. 3. 67, 142, 186. 

242. Fast and loose. A cheating game of gypsies and other va- 
grants. It is thus described by Sir J. Hawkins : " A leathern belt 



Scene I] Notes 1 8 1 

is made up into a number of intricate folds and placed edgewise 
upon a table. One of the folds is made to represent the middle of 
the girdle, so that whoever should thrust a skewer into it would 
think he held it fast to the table; whereas, when he has so done, 
the person with whom he plays may take hold of both ends and 
draw it away." Cf. A. and C. iv. 12. 28 : — 

" Like a right gypsy, hath, at fast and loose, 
Beguil'd me to the very heart of loss." 

See also Z. Z. Z. i. 2. 162 and iii. i. 104 ; and Drayton, Mooncalf: — 

" He like a gypsy oftentimes would go ; 
All kinds of gibberish he hath learn'd to know, 
And with a stick, a short string, and a noose. 
Would show the people tricks at fast and loose." 

243. Unconstant. Inconstant, fickle ; as in T. of S. iv. 2. 14 and 
Lear^ i. i. 304. S. jnore commonly uses inconstant; as in R. and 
f. i. 4. 100, ii. 2. 109, iv. I. 119, etc. See on infortunate, ii. i. 178 
above. 

254. Opposite. Opposed, antagonistic. 

259. Chafed. Theobald's correction of the " cased " of the 
folios. Cf. Hen. VIII. iii. 2. 206: "the chafed lion ; " T, of S. i. 
2. 203 : " an angry boar chafed with sweat," etc. 

267. Cha?npion of our church. Referring to the official title of 
the French kings, " eldest son of the church " (Herford). 

271. Is not amiss, etc. "Most," "yet," "but," "done," etc., 
have been conjectured for not ; but the passage was probably in- 
tended as a piece of Jesuitical sophistry. Truly done is explained 
by the following not done : what you have sworn to do amiss is not 
amiss if truly done ; but the right doing of what is wrong is not to 
doit. Fleay explains it thus: "to do amiss (incompletely) that 
which thou hast sworn to do, is not amiss when it (your course of 
proceeding) is truly (honestly) done." 

276. Indirection. See on indirectly, ii. i. 49 above. 



1 82 Notes [Act m 

280. But thou hast sworn, etc. The passage is pointed thus in 
the folio : — 

" It is religion that doth make vowes kept, 
•But thou hast sworne against religion : 
By what thou swear'st against the thing thou swear'st, 
And mak'st an oath the suretie for thy truth, 
Against an oath the truth, thou art vnsure 
To sweare, sweares onely not to be forsworne, 
Else what a mockerie should it be to sweare ? " 

This is evidently corrupt, at least in the pointing ; but of many at- 
tempts to mend it none is quite satisfactory. In 281 I adopt (as 
many do) Johnson's conjecture of which for "what." Clarke re- 
tains " what," explaining the line as including " the double inter- 
pretation of * by swearing to that which is contrary to that which 
you have sworn,' and * in swearing by religion against religion.' " 
The truth thou art unsure to swear, etc., is more perplexing. 
Knight explains it thus : " the truth — that is, the troth, for which 
you have made an oath the surety, against thy former oath to 
heaven — this troth, which it was unsure to swear — which you vio- 
late your surety in swearing — has only been sworn — swears only 
— not to be forsworn ; but it is sworn against a former oath, which 
is more binding, because it was an oath to religion — to the prin- 
ciple upon which all oaths are made." Clarke makes thou art un- 
sure to swear = " thou art hesitating to abide by." He adds : "The 
difficulty and obscurity in this speech chiefly arise from the expres- 
sions swear and swear''st being equally used for what has been 
sworn at different times ; or, in other words, * thy later vows ' and 
' thy first : ' but the very confusion thus produced in the line of ar- 
gument has characteristic effect." Perhaps the meaning is: the 
oath you thus swear with no good assurance that you ought to do 
it. He has just charged the king with giving a pledge inconsistent 
with his former pledge to the Church ; and this, he implies, could 
only have been done from imperfect or confused notions as to his 



Scene I] Notes 1 83 

duty. Swears only not to be forsworn = is sworn only as a matter 
of form. 

Fleay points the passage as follows : — 

" But thou hast sworn against religion, 
By what thou swear'st against, the thing thou swear'st ; 
And makest an oath the surety for thy truth, 
Against an oath, the truth ; thou art unsure. 
To swear swears only not to be forsworn ; " etc. 

He explains it thus : " But thou hast sworn the thing thou swear'st 
against religion (thy vow to be the Church's champion) by the re- 
ligion thou swearest against, and so thou givest, as pledge of thy 
truth, thy last oath in opposition to thy first one, which was in its 
own nature truth itself. Thou art untrustworthy, unsafe. Swear- 
ing is used only that oaths may be kept." On unstire, he compares 
ii. I. 147 above: " unsur'd assurance." He also quotes Edward 
I. ii. I : — 

" Well may I tempt myself to wrong myself. 
When he hath sworn me by the name of God 
To break a vow made in the name of God ; 
What if I swear by this right hand of mine 
To cut this right hand off ? The better way 
Were to profane the idol than confound it." 

Marshall says that " the whole gpeech is full of affected obscurities 
which are absolutely exasperating," and suggests that it may be 
" intended to be a serious parody of so-called Jesuitical casuistry." 
I have not quoted all the emendations and interpretations that have 
been proposed. 

289. Is. The subject votvs is plural, but the verb may be said to 
agree with the predicate nominative rebellion. To = towards, 
against. Cf. Much Ado, ii. i. 244: "a quarrel to you," etc. 

292. Suggestions. Temptations. Cf. Temp. ii„ i. 288, iv. i. 26, 
Lear, ii. i. 75, etc. 

294. Vouchsafe them. Condescend to accept them. Cf. J. C. ii. 



184 Notes [Act III 

I. 313 : " Vouchsafe good morrow from a feeble tongue." See also 
T. of A. i. I. 152 and Hen. VIII. ii. 3. 43. 

295. Light. The plural is to be explained by the intervening 
curses. 

296. As. That ; as often in such connection. 

303. Churlish drums. Cf. ii. i. 76 above, and V. and A. 107: 
" his churlish drum." 

304. Measures. Marching music. Fleay explains it as " solemn 
dances" (see Much Ado, ii. i. 80: "a measure full of state and 
ancientry "). Cf. the old play : — 

" Blanch. And will your grace upon your wedding-day 
Forsake your bride, and follow dreadful drums ? 
Nay, good my lord, stay you at home with me. 

Lewis. Sweetheart, content thee, and we shall agree. 

Philip. Follow me, lords ; Lord Cardinal, lead the way, 
Drums shall be music to this wedding-day." 

312. Forethought. Ordained, decreed. Elsewhere (in i Hen. 
IV. iii. 2. 38 and Cymb. iii. 4. 171) the word is = foresee, antici- 
pate. 

317. Muse. Wonder; as often in S. Cf. Cor.xix. 2..*j'. — 

" I muse my mother 
Does not approve me further," etc. 

318. Respects. Considerations, motives; as in v. 2. 44 and v. 
4. 41 below. 

320. Fall from. Cf. 3 Hen. VI. iii. 3. 209 : " He 's very likely 
now to fall from him," etc. 

327-336. Which is the side, etc. On the passage cf. Volumnia's 
speech. Cor. v. 3. 104 fol. : " thou barr'st us Our prayers to the 
gods," etc. 

330. Dismember jue. Perhaps alluding, as has been suggested, 
to the punishments inflicted in the time of the poet on some mur- 
derers, who were torn to pieces by wild horses. According to 
Malone, this was done in the case of Balthazar de Garrand, who 



Scene III] Notes 185 

assassinated William, Prince of Orange, in 1584, and that of John 
Chastel, who attempted to assassinate Henry IV. of France in 1594. 

337. Lady, with me, with me, etc. This is the pointing of the 
folio. Most of the modern eds. follow Capell in giving " Lady, 
with me ; [that is, go with me] with me," etc. Capell also changed 
lies to " lives." Fleay (who prints " li'es " for lives in the next 
line) says : " Lives was often pronounced lees, as here ; so that lie 
and live had the same sound. The letter v could be omitted be- 
tween any two vowels. Thus in Tancred and Gisimmda, iii. chor. 
lo'e (love) rhymes to overthrow, and in Edward LLL. gVe (give) 
rhymes to buy ; in London Prodigal, ii. i md'e (move) rhymes to 
too. Chapman is distinguished from all other dramatists by his 
frequent adoption of this pronunciation." 

339. Puissance. Armed force ; as in Hen. V. prol. 25 and ii, 2. 
190, etc. S. makes the word a dissyllable or trisyllable, as suits the 
measure. 

341. Condition. Quality; as in M. of V. v. i. 74: "the hot 
condition of their blood," etc. 

Scene II. — 2. Airy. Percy cites Burton's Anat. of Melan- 
choly : " Aeriall spirits or divells are such as keep quarter most part 
in the aire, cause many tempests, thunder and lightnings, teare 
oakes, fire steeples," etc. Henderson adds from Nash's Pierce 
Pennilesse : " the spirits of the aire will mixe themselves with 
thunder and lightning, and so infect the clyme where they raise 
any tempest, that sodainely great mortalitie shall ensue to the 
inhabitants." 

6. Make up. Hurry on, go along. Cf. i LIe7i. /F. v. 4. 5 : "I 
beseech your majesty, make up ; " Ld. v. 4. 58: " Make up to Clif- 
ton," etc. 

Scene III. — 2. Cousin, Used familiarly for almost any kins- 
man or kinswoman, except those most nearly related ; and some- 
times between princes or nobles not related at all. 



1 86 Notes [Act III 

8. Set at liberty, etc. The folio reads : — 

" imprisoned angells 
Set at libertie : " etc. 

The transposition was suggested by Walker. For angels see on ii. 
I. 590 above. 

11. His, Its; as often before its came into general use. 

12. Bell, book, and candle. A popular phrase for excommunica- 
tion, in the ceremonial of which a bell was tolled, a service read 
from a book, and three candles extinguished in succession. Cf. 
Marlowe, Dr. Faustus : — 

" Bell, book, and candle, candle, book, and bell, 
Forward and backward to curse Faustus to hell ; " 

and Bale's Kynge Johan : — 

" For as moch as kyng Johan doth Holy Church so handle, 
Here I do curse hym wyth crosse, boke, bell, and candle," etc. 

22. Advantage. Interest ; as in M. of V.\. 2,' T^, etc. 

28. What good respect, etc. How great a regard I have for thee. 
Cf. iii. I. 58 above. 

29. Bounden. Used again in A. Y. L. i. 2. 298 : " I rest much 
bounden to you." Elsewhere S. has bound iox the participle. 

Hubert de Burgh was the great grandson of Robert, Earl of 
Cornwall, half-brother of William the Conqueror. He was also 
descended from Charlemagne, being thus doubly of royal blood. 
He held certain offices under John, and was one of his securities 
for the fulfilment of Magna Charta ; and he was one of the few 
who remained faithful to John to the end. He was made Earl of 
Kent by Henry III. in 1226, and was a devoted servant to that 
monarch, but through the jealousy of others he lost the favour of 
Henry and was deprived of his dignities and possessions. He was 
married four times, his last wife being Margaret, daughter of Will- 
iam the Lion, King of Scotland. He died in 1243. 

36. Gawds. Gawdy or garish things, baubles. Cf. M. N. D. i. 
I. 33, iv. I. 172, etc. 



Scene IV] Notes 1 87 

39. Sound on, etc. The folio reading. Theobald changed on 
to " one," and " reign," " ear," and " car " have been suggested for 
race. " Ear " is plausible, but no change is absolutely required. 
•' With either reading, drozvsy, logically, though not grammatically, 
belongs to night, by the usual Shakespearian inversion ; and surely 
the clock striking twelve may be said to strike on into the course 
or current of the slow night " (Fleay). Singer takes it to be a bell 
tolling at midnight to call recluses to their devotions. 

42. Surly. Gloomy ; as in Sonn. 71. 2: "the surly sullen bell." 
Cf. sullen in i. I. 28 above. 

45. Keep. Hold, occupy. Cf. Z. Z. Z. iv. 3. 324 : "Other slow 
arts entirely keep the brain," etc. 

50. Conceit. Conception, imagination ; as often. 

52. Brooded. Brooding ; that is, vigilant as a bird on its nest. 
Passive participles are often thus used in an active sense. Cf. re- 
tired va. v. 4. 53 below; also M. N. D. v. i. 171 : "grim-look'd 
night; " I Hen. IV. i. 3. 183: "jeering and disdain'd contempt," 
etc. We still use "well-behaved" and "well-read" (as "a well- 
read man"). 

57. Adjunct. Cf. i?. <?/Z. 133: " Though death be adjunct," etc. 

59. Hubert, Hubert, — Hubert. " How the impression of mur- 
derous eagerness and urgency is horribly conveyed by the reitera- 
ted name, gasped forth with a mixture of stealth and vehemence — 
half mean dread, half bloodthirsty incitement! " (Clarke). 

70. Powers. The word is used in both numbers to signify an 
army, 2,% force still is. Cf. v. 6. 39 below. 

Scene IV. — 2. Armado. Fleet (the Spanish armada); as in 
C. of E. iii. 2. 140: " Spain, who sent whole armadoes of caracks," 
etc. Convicted ■= A&i^2XQ.d,, overpowered. "Collected," "con- 
vented," " connected," " convected," " consorted," and " com- 
bined " have been proposed as emendations. S. uses convict (verb 
or noun) only here and in Rich. III. i. 4. 192: "Before I be con- 
vict by course of law." 



1 88 Notes [Act III 

8. England. That is, the king of England ; as in ii. i. 341, 424 
above. Cf. France in ii. i. 155. 

11. Advice, Deliberate consideration; as in 2 Hen, VI. ii. 2. 

68: — 

" And that 's not suddenly to be perform'd, 
But with advice and silent secrecy." 

Cf. "advis'd respect" in iv. 2. 214 below. 

12. So fierce a cause. So impetuous a proceeding. 

19. Prison. Malone compares 3 He ft. VI. ii. i. 74 : "Now my 
soul's palace is become a prison." See also iv. 3. 136 below. 

23. Defy. Refuse, spurn. Cf. i Heit. IV, i. 3. 228: "All 
studies here I solemnly defy," etc. 

29. Detestable. Regularly accented by S. on the first syllable. 

32. This gap of breath. This passage of my breath, or my 
mouth. 

35. Buss. Changed by Pope to " kiss." The word had not be- 
come vulgar in the time of S. Cf. T. and C, iv. 5. 220: "Yond 
towers, whose wanton tops do buss the clouds." The noun occurs 
in 2 Hen. IV, ii. 4. 291 : "Thou dost give me flattering busses." 
Steevens quotes Drayton, Baron'' s Wars : " And we by signs sent 
many a secret buss." Cf. Spenser, F, Q. iii. 10. 46 : — 

" But every Satyre first did give a busse 
To Hellenore ; so busses did abound." 

40. That fell anatomy. That cruel skeleton. Death. Cf. C. of 
E.v. I. 238: "A mere anatomy." 

42. Modern, Commonplace, trite. Cf. J/<a;^3. iv. 3. 1 70 : — 

" Where violent sorrow seems 
A modern ecstasy," etc. 

44. Not. Omitted in the first three folios, but supplied in the 
4th. Some read " unholy." 

48. / am not mad, etc. Marshall compares Hamlet's defence of 
his sanity {Ham. iii. 4. 141 fol.). 



Scene IV] Notes 189 

52. Canonized, Accented on the second syllable, as in iii. i. 
177 above. 

58. A babe of clouts. A rag-baby. 

60. Plague. Torment ; as in Aluch Ado, ii. 3. 85, etc. 

64. Friends. The folios have " fiends ; " corrected by Rowe. 

65. Sociable. A quadrisyllable. See page 132(a) above. 

66. Loves. Lovers. Cf. 35 above. 

68. To England, if you will. Malone supposes this to be ad- 
dressed to the absent John, and = " Take my son to England." 
Staunton takes it to be an apostrophe to her hair. Fleay explains 
it : " Say this fine speech about faithful love, etc., to England, that 
is, to John." Probably Clarke is right in considering it an answer 
to what Philip has said in 20 above — " one of those incoherent, 
but wanderingly-connected speeches which persons in Constance's 
condition of mind (and even people who are only absent of mind) 
will frequently make." He adds : " It appears to us that this in- 
terpretation of her speech adds another point of characteristic de- 
lineation to the many admirable touches with which the poet has 
drawn a mind bordering on frenzy in this powerfully affecting 
scene." Marshall favours this explanation. 

73. Envy at. Cf. Hen. VIII. v. 3. 112: — 

" whose honesty the devil 
And his disciples only envy at." 

We find envy against in Cor, iii. 3. 95. 

80. Suspire. Begin to breathe. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iv. 5. t^t^ (the 
only other instance of the word in S.) : — 

"By his gates of breath 
There lies a downy feather which stirs not; 
Did he suspire, that light and weightless down 
Perforce must move." 

81. Gracious. Full of grace, lovely; as in 96 below. Cf. T. 
N. i. 5, 281 : "A gracious person," etc. 



190 Notes [Act III 

82. Canker-sorroiv. Sorrow, like a canker-worm. Cf. M. N. D. 
ii. 2. 3 : " to kill cankers in the muskrose buds," etc. 
85. Dim. Faded, wan. 

90. You hold too heinous a respect^ etc. You sin in thinking too 
much of your grief. Cf. M. of F. i. i. 74: "You have too much 
respect upon the world." 

91. He talks, etc. Cf. Macb. iv. 3. 216: "He has no children." 
96. Remembers me. Reminds me. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 243 : " Let 

me remember thee what thou hast promis'd," etc. 

99. Had you such loss, etc. " This is a sentiment which great 
sorrow always dictates. Whoever cannot help himself casts his 
eyes on others for assistance, and often mistakes their inability for 
coldness" (Johnson). 

loi. This form. Her head-dress. 

106. Outrage. Outbreak of rage or madness. Cf, Rich. HI. ii. 
4. 64: "frantic outrage," etc. 

108. A twice-told tale. Cf. Macb. v. 5. 26 : "a tale told by an 
idiot," etc. Malone compares Psalms, xc. 9 : "as a tale that is 
told." See also iv. 2. 18 below. 

no. World'' s. Pope's correction of the "words" of the folios. 
Fleay thinks that "word's" may refer to " the tedious tale of life." 

III. That. 6"^ that ; as often. Cf. 151 below. 

115. Show. Seem, appear ; as in V. and A. 1157: "where it 
shows most toward," etc. 

125. Youthful. Cf. 145 below: "How green you are," etc. 

128. Rub. Obstacle; a metaphor taken from the game of 
bowls. Cf. Hen. V. ii. 2. 188: "But every rub is smoothed on our 
way," etc. 

132. Whiles. Used by S. interchangeably with while. 

133. Misplaced. That is, usurping; wearing a "crown so foul 
misplac'd" {Rich. HI. iii. 2. 44). 

135. Unruly. Unlawful. 

136. Boisterously. Violently. See on iv. i. 95 below. 
138. Makes nice of, etc. Has no scruples about, etc. 



Scene IV] Notes 191 

146. Lays you plots. Lays plots for you ; the " ethical dative," 
so called. 

147. True blood. "The blood of him that has the just claim" 
(Johnson). 

149. Evilly. Used again in T. of A. iv. 3. 467. 

153. Exhalation. Meteor. Cf. i Hen. IV. ii. 4. 352 : "My 
lord, do you see these meteors ? do you behold these exhala- 
tions ?" See also Hen. VUI. iii. 2. 226 andy. C. ii. i. 44. 

154. Scope. Free play, operation. Pope changed the word to 
" scape," which several editors adopt. It is obviously wrong, as it 
could refer only to a prodigy or something out of the ordinary 
course of nature ; while the context enumerates only common and 
customed phenomena, v/hich the people imagine to be prodigies 
and signs. Distemper'' d ^^ disordered, troubled ; as often. 

155. Customed. Not " 'customed," as sometimes printed. The 
word occurs again in 2 Hen. VI. v. i. 188: "customed right." 

158. Abortives. Monstrosities ; the only instance of the noun 
in S. 

161. In his prisonment. In keeping him in prison. 

166. Unacquainted. Cf. v. 2. 32 below, " unacquainted colours." 

167. Strong matter of. Good cause of, powerful reasons for. 
169. Hurly. Tumult, commotion. Cf. T. of S. iv. i. 206 : 

" amid this hurly," etc. 

174. Call. That is, a bird-call, the reed or pipe used in catch- 
ing birds. 

175. Train. Allure. Cf. C. of E. iii. 2. 45 : "O, train me not, 
sweet mermaid, by thy note," etc. 

176. As a little s^iow, etc. "Bacon, in his Hist, of Hen. VII.^ 
speaking of Simnel's march, observes that ' their snow-ball did not 
gather as it went ' " (Johnson). 

182. Strong actions. The reading of the later folios ; the ist 
folio has " strange actions," which may possibly be what S. wrote. 




Blanche of Castile 



ACT IV 



Scene I. — On the locality of the scene, see on i. i. i above. 
According to history, Arthur was first confined at Falaise, and 
afterwards at Rouen, where he died or was murdered. 

2. Within the arras. That is, between the tapestry hangings 
and the wall, a common place of concealment. See M. W. iii. 3. 
97, Much Ado, i. 3. 63, Ham. ii. 2. 163, iii, 3. 28, iv. i. 9, etc. 

7. Uncleanly. Unbecoming. 

8. To say with. To speak with. 

15. As sad as night, etc. An allusion to one of the affectations 
of the day. Steevens quotes Lyly, Midas, IS92: "Melancholy I 
is melancholy a word for a barber's mouth ? Thou shouldst say 
heavy, dull, and doltish ; melancholy is the crest of courtiers, and 
now every base companion, &c. says he is melancholy ; " and The 
Life and Death of the Lord Cromwell, 161 3 : — 

192 



Scene I] Notes 193 

" My nobility is wonderful melancholy. — 
Is it not most gentleman-like to be melancholy ? " 

16. Christendom. "Christianity" (Schmidt); " christening or 

baptism" (Clarke). In A, W. i. i. 188, it is = Christian name, 

or baptismal name. Halliwell-Phillipps quotes Taylor, Worses, 
1630 : — 

" A halfe piece, or a crowne, or such a summe, 
Hath forc'd them falsifie their Christendome." 

19. Doubt. Suspect, fear ; as in iv. 2. 102 and v. 6. 44 below. 

20. Practises. Plots ; as often. Cf. the noun in iv. 3. 63. 

25. Prate. Prattle. The noun occurs again in i Hen. VI. 
iv. I. 124. 

2Z' Pheum. Tears. See on iii. i. 22 above. 

34. Dispiteous. Pitiless ; used by S. only here. 

38. Effect. Import, meaning. 

42. Handkercher. The spelling of the folios, as in most other 
places ; indicating the common pronunciation. 

46. Watchful minutes. That mark the passage of the hour, 
like watches. 

47. Still and anon. Ever and anon. Still is often = ever. 

49. Love. Act of love, kindness ; as in Per. ii. 4. 49 : " But if 
I cannot win you to this love," etc. 

50. Lien. The folio has " lyen." In Ham. v. I. 190, the 
quartos have " lien," the folios " lain." 

52. At your sick service. To attend you when sick. 

61. Heat. Elsewhere in S. the participle is heated. Cf. waft in 
ii. I. 73 above. Heat is found in Daniel, iii. 19, in the ed. of 
1611. 

70. The folio reads : " I would not haue beleeu'd him : no 
tongue but Huberts^ Sundry changes have been made, but none 
seems necessary. 

78. Heaven sake. Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 271 : "fashion sake ; " 
T, and C. ii. 3. 1 20 : " digestion sake ; " T. N. iii. 4. 326 : 
KING JOHN — 13 



194 Notes [Act IV 

" oath sake," etc. The omission of the possessive inflection is com- 
monest with a sibilant; as in _/. C. iv. 3. 19 : "justice sake j " 
A. Y. L. iii. 2. 144 : " sentence end," etc. 

82. Angerly. The word occurs also in T, G. of V, i. 2. 62 and 
Macb. iii. 5. i. S. does not use angrily. 

92. Mote. The folios have " moth," which was pronounced 
mote. Cf. the play on Goths and goats in A. Y. L. iii. 3. 9. 

95. Bolster Otis. The word (formerly = intractable, violent) has 
come to be restricted to " loud weather " ( W. T, iii. 3. 1 1 ) and 
like noisy demonstrations. We can no longer use it as in V. and 
A. 326 : " his boisterous and unruly beast " (horse) ; or as in A. 
Y. L. ii. 3. 32 : "a base and boisterous sword," etc. 

99. Want pleading. Be insufficient to plead. 

106. The fire is dead, etc. " The fire, being created not to hurt, 
but to comfort, is dead with grief for finding itself used in acts of 
cruelty, which, being innocent, I have not deserved''^ (Johnson). 
On extremes, cf. v. 7. 13 below: "fierce extremes." 

117. Tarre him on. Set him on, urge him on. Cf. T. and C. 
i" 3- 392: "tarre the mastiffs on; " and Ham. ii. 2. 370: "no sin 
to tarre them on to controversy." 

121. Of note. Notorious, distinguished. 

123. Owes. Owns. See on ii. i. 109 above. 

125. This same very iron. Cf. Rich. III. iii. 2. 49: "this same 
very day," etc. 

130. Doubtless and secure. Free from fear and confident. Cf. 
I Hen. IV. iii. 2. 20 : "I am doubtless I can purge Myself," etc. 

132. Offend. Harm ; as often. 

133. Closely. Secretly; as in Ham. iii. I. 29, R. and J. v. 3. 
255, etc. Cf. close in iv. 2. 72 below. 

Scene II. — i. Once again crowned. This was ^t fourth time that 
John was crowned. The second coronation was at Canterbury in 
the year 1201. He was crowned again at the same place, after the 
murder of his nephew, in April, 1202; probably with a view of 



Scene II] Notes 195 

confirming his title to the throne, his competitor no longer stand- 
ing in the way (Malone). 

4. Once superfluous. That is, once too many. 

10. Guard. Ornament, as with trimmings. Cf. M. of V. ii. 2. 

164: — 

" Give him a livery 
More guarded than his fellows' ; see it done ; " 

Hen. VIII. prol. 16: "In a long motley coat guarded with yel- 
low," etc. 

18. An ancient tale new-told. Cf. iii. 4. 108 above: "as tedious 
as a twice-told tale." 

21. Antique. Accented on the first syllable, as regularly in S. 

24. To fetch about. To " come about," as the nautical term now 
is ; to veer round. 

29. Covetousness. Eagerness. Confound = destroy, ruin ; as in 
v. 7. 58 below. 

38. Since all, etc. That is, since we make our preferences yield 
in all cases to your will. 

41. Possessed you with. Informed you of. Cf. M. of V. i. 3. 65, 
iv. I. 35, Cor. ii. i. 145, etc. 

42. More, more strong. Cf. Cor. iv. 6. d^, and Lear, v. 3. 202. 

43. Indue. Supply, furnish. 

48. To sound. To give sound or utterance to. Cf. Rich. II. iii. 
4. 74 : " How dares thy harsh rude tongue sound this unpleasing 
news ? " 

50. Myself and them. The grammatical error is probably due 
in part to the occurrence of the same combination in the preceding 
line, and in part to the more frequent association of them than they 
with myself. 

55. In rest. Either = in possession, as Clarke explains it ; or in 
repose, in peace, as Schmidt and Fleay give it. Possibly both ideas 
are combined. 

56. Why then, etc. Pope transposed then and should, to give 
the question the ordinary direct form ; but the question may be 



196 Notes [Act IV 

considered as indirect, or perhaps as a confusion of the two con- 
structions. 

57. Mew up. Shut up. Cf. M. N. D, i. i. 71, Rich. III. i. i. 
38, 132, etc. 

60. Exercise ? Probably referring especially to physical exercise, 
with which imprisonment interfered. 

61. The timers enemies. Those who are now your enemies. To 
grace occasions = to urge or use against you ; or occasions may 
mean " opportunities to attack your government " (Schmidt). 

64. Goods. Abstract nouns are often thus used in the plural 
when more than one person is referred to. 

69. Should do. Who was to do. The ellipsis of the relative is 
common. 

72. C/ose aspect. Reserved, secretive look. For the accent of 
aspect, see on ii. i. 250 above. 

77. Between his purpose. That is, showing a conflict in his 
mind between his purpose of killing Arthur and his conscience. Cf. 
248 below. 

78. Set. Appointed, posted. "It is worthy of notice how in this 
speech, and in the beautiful one commencing with 9 above, Salis- 
bury maintains that characteristic refinement and poetry of diction 
which distinguish him in contrast with Pembroke " (Clarke). 

79-81. It needs must break, etc. The figure is taken from a boil 
or similar gathering. Cf. T. and C. ii. i. 5 fol. 

89. Here or hence. See on v. 4. 29 below. 

93. Apparent. Evident, obvious ; as often. Cf. M. for M, iv. 
2. 144: — 

" Duke. It is now apparent ? 
Provost. Most manifest, and not denied by himself." 

99. Owed. Was the right owner of. See on ii. i. 109 above, 
and cf. iv. i. 123. 

icx). Foot, For the plural, ci. pound in i. i. 69 above. 

Bad world the while ! A bad world nowadays! Cf. i Hen. IV, 



Scene II] Notes 197 

ii. 4. 146 : " God help the while ! a bad world, I say ; " and Rich. 
III. iii. 6. 10 : " Here's a good world the while ! " 

102. Doubt. Suspect, fear ; as in iv. i. 19 above. 

106. Feaj'ful. Full of fear; as in 191 below. On the passage, 
cf. Macb. V. 3. II, 14. 

no. From France to England. "The king asks how all goes in 
France; the messenger catches the word goes, and answers that 
whatever is in France ^0^5 now into England^'' (Johnson). 

116. 6>, where, etc. Cf. Macb. i. 7. 35 : — 

" Was the hope drunk 
Wherein you dress'd yourself ? hath it slept since ? " 

117. Care. In the ist folio the first letter of the word is broken, 
and may be either an ^ or a c; the later folios have "care." 
Some editors read " ear " on account of the ear in the answer ; 
but, as Clarke remarks, that word is sufficiently suggested by the 
king's ^^ hear of it," and care accords better with the preceding 
intelligence. 

118. Drawn. Drawn together, levied; as in v. 2. 113 below. 
120. Constance died in 1201 at Nantes, Elinor in 1204 (Mrs. 

Jameson and some other authorities say 1203) at Fontevreaux. 

124. Idly. Incidentally, casually ; explained by the context. 

125. Occasion. Fortune; as in Ham. i. 3. 54: "Occasion 
smiles upon a second leave," etc. The word is a quadrisyllable 
here ; a metrical license very common in this play. Cf. prepara- 
tion in III above, and see 173, 184, 191, and 218 below. 

128. Walks. Goes. As Schmidt remarks, the verb is "much 
oftener used in S. than in modern language = to go, move, and 
even = come." 

135. Afeard. Used by S. interchangeably with afraid. 

137. Amazed. Confused, bewildered ; as in ii. i. 356 above. 

139. Aloft. The only instance of the prepositional use in S. 

141. Sped. Fared, succeeded. Cf. M. W. ii. 2. 278, iii. 5. 
137, etc. 



198 Notes [Act IV 

144. Strangely fantasied. Filled with strange fancies ; the 
only instance oi fantasied in S. 

148. Pomfret. A town in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In 
the old play there is a scene between the prophet and the people, 
and another of the Bastard plundering the abbeys, both of them 
poor and coarse, and judiciously omitted by S. See p. 13 above. 

158. Safety. Safe keeping, custody ; as in R. and J. v. 3. 183: 
" Hold him in safety." This prophet, " Peter of Pomfret," al- 
though his prediction was fulfilled (see v. i. 25 below), did not 
escape the penalty pronounced by the king, but after being 
dragged through the streets by horses was hanged upon a gibbet 
(Douce). 

165. Whom. For the " confusion of construction," cf. Temp. iii. 
3. 92 : " Young Ferdinand, whom they supposed is drown'd ; " 
Cor. iv. 2. 2 : " The nobility are vex'd, whom we see have sided," 
etc. 

171. Subject enemies. Enemies among my subjects. Marshall 
calls this " nonsense," and reads "subjects" with the later folios. 

177. Sp7'ightful. Full of spirit. It is used by S. only here, but 
we have sprightfully in a similar sense in Rich. II. i. 3. 3. 

182. Five moons. This phenomenon is mentioned by some of 
the chroniclers and also in the old play, where the five moons ap- 
pear visibly and the Bastard says : — 

" See, my lord, strange apparitions. 
Glauncing mine eye to see the diadem 
Plac'd by the bishops on your highness head, 
Forth from a gloomy cloud, which, curtain-like, 
Display'd itself, I suddenly espied 
Five moons reflecting, as you see them now," etc. 

To-night — last night ; as often. 

185. Beldams. Old women, hags. The word, according to the 
New Eng. Diet., is " not a direct adoption of the Fr. belle dame, 
* fair lady,' but formed upon dam, earlier dame, in its English sense 
of * mother,' with bel- employed to express relationship, as in bel- 



Scene II] Notes 199 

sire" Hence it meant originally a grandmother ; as in R. of L. 
953, 1458, and (figuratively) i Hen. IV. iii. i. 32. Later it was 
applied to any old woman (as in Spenser, F. Q. iii. 2. 43, to an 
" aged nourse ") ; and later still it got a depreciative or contemp- 
tuous sense, as in the present passage. Cf. Macb. iii. 5. 2, the only 
other instance of this use in S. 

198. Contrary feet. The mutations of fashion are well illustrated 
by the fact that this passage perplexed the commentators of the 
last century. Johnson says : " Shakespeare seems to have con- 
founded the man's shoes with his gloves. He that is frighted or 
hurried may put his hand into the wrong glove, but either shoe 
will equally admit either foot." Farmer, Steevens, and Malone fill 
a page of the Variorum of 1821 to show that in earlier times shoes 
were made "rights and lefts." Thus Scot, in his Discoverie of 

Witchcraft, says : " He that receiveth a mischance, will consider, 
whether he put not on his shirt wrongside outwards, or his left 
shoe on his right foot," etc. Boswell remarks : " What has called 
forth the antiquarian knowledge of so many learned commentators 
is again become the common practice at this day." Cf. T. G.of V. 
ii. 3. 16 : "this left shoe." Contrary is commonly accented by S. 
on the first syllable ; but on the second, as here, in T. of A. iv. 3. 
144 and Ham. iii. 2. 221. 

199. A many. Cf. Hen. V. iii. 7. 79 : "you bear a many super- 
fluously," etc. The phrase is still used in poetry ; as by Tennyson 
in The Miller'' s Daughter : " They have not shed a many tears," etc. 

200. Embaitailed. Embattled ; the spelling of the early eds., 
to be preserved here, as the word is a quadrisyllable. Cf. Hen. V. 
iv. 2. 14 : " The English are embattled, you French peers," etc. 

207. No had. Changed by Rowe to " Had none ; " but the 
idiom is found elsewhere. Arrowsmith ( N. and Q. i. 7. p. 521) 
cites Dekker, Fortunatus : "No does?" Foxe, Martyrs: "No 
did ? " etc. Fleay adds Lodge, Marius and Sylla, iv. I : " No 
relent ? " and Staunton gives an example of No had from a letter 
of Sir Thomas More. 



200 Notes [Act IV 

214. More upon humour ^ etc. More on account of mere caprice 
than from deliberate consideration. For upon cf. ii. i. 597 above : 
" upon commodity." For advised, cf. advice in iii. 4. 1 1 above ; 
and for respect, see on iii. 4. 90 above. 

220. Make deeds ill done ! The plural is to be explained by the 
proximity of deeds. Cf. iii. i. 295 above. Hadst is regarded by 
some as a dissyllable here. On the passage, cf. _/. C. ii. i. 175 : — 

" And let our hearts, as subtle masters do, 
Stir up their servants to an act of rage, 
And after seem to chide 'em." 

222. Quoted. Noted, set down ; as in A. W, v. 3. 205. " He 's 
quoted for a most perfidious slave," etc. 

224. Aspect. For the accent, see on 72 above. 

226. Liable. Suitable, fit ; as in Z. Z. Z. v. i. 97 : "The pos- 
terior of the day, most generous sir, is liable, congruent, and 
measurable for the afternoon ; the word is well culled," etc. 

227. Broke with thee. Cf. Much Ado, i. i. 311 : "I will break 
with her" (see also 328) ; Id. i. 2. 16 : "break with you of it," 
etc. In Id. ii. i. 162 and iii. 2. 76, we find "break with him 
about^^ etc. 

229. Made it no conscience. Had no scruples. Cf. Hen. VIII. 

V. 3.67: — 

" That I shall clear myself, 
Lay all the weight ye can upon my patience, 
I make as little doubt as you do conscience 
In doing daily wrongs." 

231. Hadst thou, etc. Johnson observes: "There are many 
touches of nature in this conference of John with Hubert. A 
man engaged in wickedness would keep the profit to himself, and 
transfer the guilt to his accomplice. These reproaches, vented 
against Hubert, are not the words of art or policy, but the erup- 
tions of a mind swelling with consciousness of a crime, and de- 
sirous of discharging its misery on another. This account of the 



Scene III] Notes 20 1 

timidity of guilt is drawn ab ipsis recessibus mentis^ from the inti- 
mate knowledge of mankind, particularly that line in which he 
says that to have bid him tell his tale in express words would have 
struck him dumb ; nothing is more certain than that bad men use 
all the arts of fallacy upon themselves, palliate their actions to their 
own minds by gentle terms, and hide themselves from their own 
detection in ambiguities and subterfuges." 
234. As bid. That is, as if to bid or prompt. 
245. Fleshly. Corporeal ; used by S. only here. On the pas- 
sage, cf.y. C. ii. I. 68: — 

" the state of man, 
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then 
The nature of an insurrection ; " 

and see also 2 Hen. IV. iv. 3. 118, T. and C, ii. 3. 185, and Macd. 
i. 3. 140. 

255. Motion. Impulse, prompting; as iny. C. ii. i. 64: — 

" Between the acting of a dreadful thing 
And the first motion," etc. 

See also i. i. 212 above. 

264. Feattire. For the singular, of. ii. i. 126 above. 

265. Foul imaginary eyes of blood. " The sanguinary eyes of 
my imagination " (Schmidt). 

268. Expedient. Expeditious, swift ; as in ii. I. 60, 223 above. 

269. Conjure. S. accents the word on either syllable without 
regard to the meaning. 

The old play is divided into two parts, the first of which ends 
with the king's sending Hubert on this errand ; the second begins 
with " Enter Arthur^'' etc., as in the next scene. 

Scene III. — 3. There ''s. Cf. Cymb. iv. 2. 371: "There is no 
more such masters," etc. The singular verb is often thus used 
before a plural subject. 

10. Heaven take my soul, etc. S. here follows the old play. 
The fate of Arthur is not certainly known. Matthew Paris, relat- 



202 Notes [Act IV 

ing the event, uses the word evanuit (he disappeared) ; and the 
business was doubtless managed with great secrecy. The French 
historians say that John, coming in a boat at night to the castle of 
Rouen, where Arthur was confined, ordered him to be brought 
forth, and having stabbed him, fastened a stone to the dead body 
and threw it into the Seine, in order to give some colour to the 
report, which he afterwards caused to be spread, that the prince, 
attempting to escape by a window, fell into the river and was 
drowned (Malone). 

II. Saint EdmundsbMry. See on v. 4. i8 below. Him refers 
to the Dauphin. 

16. Private with me. That is, private or personal communica- 
tion to me. 

18. Bigot was Roger Bigot (not Robert, as generally stated), 
son of Hugh Bigot, steward to King Stephen. He was created 
Earl of Norfolk, and died in the Holy Land in 1177. Both he 
and his eldest son, Hugh Bigot, were among the twenty-five 
barons who united against John in obtaining Magna Charta. 

20. Or ere. A reduplication, the or being = before. Cf. v. 6. 
44 below. 

21. Distemper' d. Disaffected. It is used of the weather (= dis- 
turbed) in iii. 4. 154 above. 

29. Griefs. Grievances; as in y. C. i. 3. 118, iv. 2. 42, etc. 
Reason = speak ; as in M. of V. ii. 8. 27 : "I reason'd with a 
Frenchman yesterday," etc. 

34. What is he lies here? That is, who is he that lies here? 
For what=. who, cf. ii. i. 134 above. 

48. Savagery. Atrocity. In Hen. V. v. 2. 47 ("deracinate 
such savagery ") it is = wild growth. 

49. Wall-eyed. " Fierce-eyed " (Schmidt) ; perhaps simply = 
with perverted or unnatural vision. The word occurs again in 
T. ^. v. I. 44: "wall-eyed slave." 

50. Remorse. Pity ; as in no below and ii. I. 478 above. 
54. Sin of times. That is, of the times, of the age. 



Scene III] Notes 203 

56. Exampled by. Cf. T. and C. i. 3. 132: — 

" so every step, 
Exampled by the first pace," etc. 

63. Practice. Plotting. See on iv. i. 20 above. 

64. Whose. Of vi^hom ; the " objective genitive." 

71. Set a glory to this hand. Gained fame or honour for this 
hand of mine. Fleay sees an allusion to the fact that in the early 
Christian iconography a hand was sometimes surrounded by a 
nimbus. Clarke says that " the vow to dedicate his own hand to 
the service of wixmiug glory by attaining vengeance, and giving it 
the honour or worship of having fulfilled a so-esteemed sacred 
duty, is perfectly consistent with one of the practices of chivalrous 
times." Some editors adopt Farmer's emendation of "head." 
Giving it the worship of revenge = " ennobling it by revenge " 
(Schmidt). 

79. Vour sword is bright, etc. Cf. 0th. i. 2. 59 : " Keep up 
your bright swords, for the dew will rust them." Here, as there, 
the expression is contemptuous. 

84. True. Rightful, just ; as often. 

87. Dunghill! For the personal use, cf. Lear, iv. 6. 249 : " Out, 
dunghill ! " 

91. Yet. As yet, up to this time. It is often thus transposed 
before a negative. 

94. Stand by. Stand back ; as in Much Ado, iv. i. 24, T. of S. 
i. 2. 143, etc. 

95. Thou wert better. It were better for thee. So " you were 
best ; " as in AI. of V. ii, 8. 33, etc. The pronoun, originally 
dative, came to be regarded as a nominative. 

97. Spleen. See on ii. i. 68 above. 

99. Toasting-iron. Contemptuous for sword. Cf. Hen. V. ii. i. 
9 : " I will wink and hold out mine iron : ... it will toast cheese," 
etc. Steevens cites Fletcher, Woman's Prize : " dart ladles, toast- 
ing-irons," etc. 



204 Notes [Act IV 

104. Hour. A dissyllable, as often. 

108. Rheum. See on iii. i. 22 above. 

109. Traded in it. Expert in it, as if it were his trade, Cf. 
T. and C. ii. 2. 64 : " Two traded pilots," etc. 

1 10. Remorse. See on 50 above. 

116. Here 'j a good world ! Ironical = bad world the while ! 
in iv. 2. 100 above. 

121. Damned as black. Staunton remarks : " S. had here proba- 
bly in his mind the old religious plays of Coventry, some of which 
in his boyhood he might have seen, wherein the damned souls had 
their faces blackened." Sharp, in his account of these perform- 
ances, says that there were uniformly three white and three black 
souls. He quotes the following ancient bill in this connection : — 

" Itm payd to iij whyte sollys vs 

Itm payd to iij blake sollys vs 

Itm for makyng and mendynge of the blakke soules hose vjd 
p'd for blakyng the sollys fassys — " 

126. Do but despair. Do nothing but despair, only despair. 

132. Ocean. A trisyllable; as in ii. i. 340 above. 

133. Up. Used intensively, as often by S. Cf. kill up ^poison 
up, crown up, etc. 

137. Embounded. Bounded, enclosed ; used by S. only here. 
140. Amazed. See on iv. 2. 137 above. 

142. Easy. Easily ; as very often. Cf. Sonn. 109. 3, M. N. D. 
V. I. 22, Macb. ii. 3. 143, v. 8. 9, etc. 

146. Scamble. Scramble, struggle. Cf, Much Ado, v. i. 94, 
Heti. V.i. I. 4, V. 2. 218, etc. 

147. Unowed. Unowned, or without rightful owner. Cf. owe 
in ii. I. 109 above. " In this hour of ripened moral perception, the 
speaker suffers himself to confess that the only rightful possessor 
of England is gone, and that John is but possessor by tenure of 
usurpation and wrong ; nevertheless, Philip's sense of fidelity and 
personal gratitude to the present occupier of the throne will not 



Scene III] Notes 205 

let him abandon him or his cause, especially now that they are in 
jeopardy and peril" (Clarke). 

151. From home. Away from home, abroad. 

152. Waits. Clarke says that the on of the next line is " under- 
stood " with waits ; but this is not absolutely necessary. The verb 
may be transitive (as in Z. L. L. v. 2. 63, etc.), and the on may 
be inserted for the measure or on account of the omission of the 
verb. On the passage, cf. y. C. v. i. 85 fol. 

154. Wrested. Wrested from its rightful owner, usurped. 

155. Cincture. Girdle; Pope's correction of the "center" of 
the folios. Clarke suggests that the latter may have been in famil- 
iar use as a corruption of the Fr. ceinture. 

158. Businesses. S. uses the plural no less than six times. Cf. 
A. W.i. I. 220, iii. 7. 5, iv. 3. 98, W. T. iv. 2. 15, and Lear, ii. I. 
129, Are brief in hand = must be speedily dispatched. 




Lewis the Dauphin 



ACT V 



Scene I. — 2. Circle. Diadem; as in A. and C. iii. 12. 18: 
"The circle of the Ptolemies." Cf. round m Macb. i. 2. 59 and iv. 
I. 88. Take again — take it again. Some make greatness and 
authority the object, inserting a comma after pope. 

6. And from his holiness, etc. And use all your power from his 
holiness. 

7. Injlani'd. Burned up, destroyed. 

8. Counties. Some take the word to be = counts, nobles (cf. 
M. of V. i. 2. 49, T. N. i. 5. 320, etc.) ; but it may have its ordi- 
nary sense, as Schmidt explains it. 

12. Miste?fiper^d. Distempered (see on iv. 3. 21 above), dis- 
affected. It occurs again in R. and J. i. i. 94. 

13. Qualified. Moderated, abated; as in R. of L. 424, Ham. 
iv. 7. 1 14, etc. 

206 



Scene I] Notes 207 

14. The present timers so sick, etc. For the metaphor, cf. Macb. 
V. 2. 27. See also v. 2. 20 below. 

19. Convertite. Convert or penitent ; as in R. of L. 743 and 
A. Y, L. V. 4. 190. 

25. Is this Ascension-day ? See iv. 2. 147 fol. above. 

27, Give off? Give up ; the only instance of the expression in S. 

31. Dover Castle. Hubert de Burgh with a hundred and forty 
soldiers defended it for four months (French). 

35. Amazement. Confusion, bewilderment. Cf. the verb in iv. 

2. 137 and iv. 3. 140 above. 

54. Glister. Glisten (not used by S.). Cf. M. of V. ii. 7. 65: 
" All that glisters is not gold," etc. 

55. Become. Adorn; as in ii. i. 141 above. 

59. Forage. Go forth in search of prey. Cf. Hen. V. i. 2. 1 10 : — 

" Whiles his most mighty father on a hill 
Stood smiling to behold his lion's whelp 
Forage in blood of French nobility." 

See also the noun in L. L. L. iv. i. 93 : "And he [the lion] from 
forage will incline to play." Fleay quotes Edward III. ii. i : — 

" The lion doth become his bloody jaws, 
And grace his foragement by being wild, 
When vassals fear his trembling at their feet ; " 

and Chapman, Bussfs Revenge : " Lions foraging prey." 

60. Displeasure. Often used by S. in a stronger sense than now ; 
as in Much Ado, i. 3. 68, ii. 2. 6, Cor. iv. 5. 78, Lear, i. i. 202, iii. 

3. 5, etc. 

66. Upon the footing of our land. Standing upon our own land. 

67. Orders. The word, from meaning orderings, arrangements, 
comes to be = stipulations, conditions. Cf. v. 2. 4 below. 

69. Invasive ? Invading ; used by S. only here. 

70. Cocker' d. Pampered ; used by S. nowhere else. For the 
masculine use of wanton, cf. Rich. II. v. 3. 10 and Ham. v. 2. 310. 



2o8 Notes [Act V 

71. Flesh his spirit. "Taste blood for the first time" (Fleay). 
Cf. I Hen. IV. v. 4. 133 : — 

" Come, brother John ; full bravely hast thou flesh'd 
Thy maiden sword ; " 

I Hen. VI. iv. 7. 36 : " Did flesh his puny sword in Frenchmen's 
blood." 

72. Mocking the air^ etc. Cf. Macb. i. 2. 49 : — 

" Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky, 
And fan our people cold." 

Malone remarks : " From these two passages Mr. Gray seems to 
have formed the first stanza of his celebrated Ode : — 

' Ruin seize thee, ruthless king ! 
Confusion on thy banners wait I 
Though fann'd by conquest's crimson wing, 
They mock the air with idle state.' " 

79. May well meet, etc. May still be a match for, etc. 

Scene II. — 2. Remembrance. A quadrisyllable ; as in W, T. iv. 
4. 76 : " Grace and remembrance be to you both." 

3. Precedent. Original copy, first draught ; as in Rich. III. iii. 
6. 7 : " The precedent was full as long a-doing." 

4. Order. Arrangement, agreement. See on v. i. 67 above. 
6. Sacrament. Oath ; as in Rich. II. iv. i. 328, v. 2. 97, etc. 
13. Plaster. For the metaphor, cf. Tetnp. ii. i. 139: — 

" you rub the sore 
When you should bring the plaster." 

16. Metal. See on ii. i. 401 above. 

27. Stranger m.arch. The folios have " Stranger, march," which 
some editors retain. For stranger -^iox^x^xv, cf. v. i. ii above.^ 

30. Spot. Stain, disgrace (Schmidt); as in v. 7. 107 below. 
Upon — on account of; as in iv. 2. 214 and v. i. 18 above. En- 
forced— involuntary ; as in M. of V, \. i. 240, Rich. II. i. 3. 264, 
etc. 



Scene II] Notes 209 

34. Clippeth. Embraceth. Qi. \. Hen. IV. \\\. 1.44: "clipp'd 
in with the sea," etc. 

36. Grapple. Pope's correction of the " cripple " of the folios. 
Fleay adopts Steevens's conjecture of "gripple," which means the 
same. 

39. To spend. Some editors adopt Steevens's conjecture of " to- 
spend," in which the to is intensive ; but it seems to be merely an 
instance of the insertion of to with a second infinitive after its 
omission with the first. Cf. i. i. 134 above: "hadst thou rather 
be . . . and to enjoy." There is no clear example of this archaic 
intensive to in S. 

42. Doth. Changed by Hanmer to " Do ; " but it may be the 
old 3d person plural in -th. See on ii. i. 217 above, and cf. R. 
and J. prol. 8, 3 Hen. VI. iv. i. 74, etc. 

44. " Co?npulsion is here used in reference to what Salisbury has 
just before called this enforced cause ; that is, the cause to which 
he felt himself compelled by the infection of the time^^ (Clarke). 
Brave respect = gallsmt loyalty, patriotic spirit. Cf. iii. i. 58 
above. 

45. Dew. For the application to tears, cf. R. of L. 1829, Z. Z. Z. 
iv. 3. 29, W. T. ii, I. 109, and Rich. II. v. i. 9. 

46. Silverly. Silver-like ; used by S. only here. The same is 
true of the verb progress. 

50. This shower, etc. Malone compares R. of L. 1788: — 

" This windy tempest, till it blow up rain, 
Held back his sorrow's tide, to make it more." 

59. Full of warm blood. The folios have " Full warm of blood," 
which may be right, though it does not suit the rest of the line so 
well as the transposition in the text. The latter is due to Heath, 
and is adopted by the Cambridge editors and others. 

64. An angel spake. Fleay says : " This phrase was proverbial, 
and usually involved a quibble ; as in Two Angry Women of 
Abington : — 

KING JOHN— 14 



2IO Notes [Act V 

• Coomes. There speaks an angel. Is it good ? 
Mrs. Gourney. Ay. 

Coomes. Then I can't do amiss ; the good angel goes with me ; * 

and in Eastward Ho, ii. i : — 

• Quicksilver. Security will smell out ready money for you instantly. 
Petronel. There spake an angel.* " 

Here there may be a similar play upon the expression, referring 
to the purse just mentioned and to the holy legate whom he sees 
approaching. For the coin called an angel, cf. ii. I. 590 and iii. 
3. 9 above. 

75. At hand. By hand. 

79. Propertied. Made a property of, treated as a mere tool or 
instrument. Cf. T. N. iv. 2. 99 : " they have here propertied me.'' 
Note also the use of the noun iny. C. iv. i. 40: — 

" Do not talk of him 
But as a property." 

89. Interest to. Claim to, interest in ; as in i Hen, IV. iii. 2. 

98:- 

" He hath more worthy interest to the state 
Than thou the shadow of succession." 

99. Underprop. Support, uphold. Cf. R. of L. 53 : " Which 
of them both should underprop her fame ; " and Rich. II. ii. 2. 
82 : " Here am I left to underprop his land," etc. 

100. Charge? Expense ; as in i. i. 49 above. 

loi. Liable. Allied, associated. Cf. its use = subject, in ii. i. 
490 above. 

104. Bank'd. The most natural meaning would be " thrown up 
intrenchments before " (Steevens), but the corresponding passage 
in the old play favours the interpretation " sailed along the banks 
of." Schmidt thinks the word is probably = the Fr. aborder, to 
land on the banks of. Staunton suggests that it is a term in card- 
playing = put into a bank or rest, won. 



Scene II] Notes 211 

105. Cards. S. here anticipates the invention of playing-cards 
by about a century and a half. See on i. i. 24 above. 

107. Set. Game, match ; as in Z. L. L. v. 2. 29, Hen. V. i. 2. 
262, etc. 

113. Drew this gallant head. Levied this gallant army. For 
drew, see on iv. 2. 118 above ; and on head cf. i Hen. IV. i. 3. 284 : 
" To save our heads by raising of a head ; " Id. iv. 4. 25 : "a head 
Of gallant warriors," etc. 

115. Outlook. Outface (cf. v. 1.49 above) ; the only instance 
of the word in S. 

1 24. Wilful-opposite. Obstinately contrary ; not hyphened in 
the early eds. Cf. iii. i. 254 above. 

125. Temporize. Come to terms; as in T. and C. iv. 4. 6, Cor. 
iv. 6, 17, etc. 

130. And reason, etc. And there is reason, etc. Cf. W, T, iv. 

4.417: — 

" reason my son 
Should choose himself a wife," etc. 

See also on excuse, ii. i. 119 above. 

132. Unadvised. Inconsiderate, rash. Cf. ii. i. 45, 191 above ; 
and advised va. iv. 2. 214. Harness^ d=-vft2xmg harness, or armour ; 
as in T. and C. i. 2. 8. 

^Z3' Unhair^d. Beardless. Cf. v. i. 69 above. Hair was 
often spelt hear or heare, and the folio has here "vn-heard." 
Schmidt prefers unheard ( = unprecedented). 

138. Take the hatch. Leap over the hatch. See on i. i. 171 
above. 

139. Concealed wells. That is, wells in out-of-the-way places. 
The expression has troubled certain of the commentators. 

141. Pawns. Things pawned. 

144. The crying of your nation^ s crow. "The sound of your 
nation's crow ; " alluding to the crowing of the cock, which is the 
national bird of France, and to the boastful crowing attributed to 
Frenchmen, to which S. has another allusion in Hen. V. iii. 6. 160. 



212 Notes [ActV 

Schmidt takes crow to be a contemptuous name for the French 
cock. 

146. Feebled. The verb occurs again in Cor. i. i. 199. 

149. Aery. Brood. Cf. Rich, III. i. 3. 264, 270, and Ham. ii. 
3. 354. Tower was a term in falconry for the spiral upward flight 
of the bird; as souse was for its pouncing upon its prey. Cf. ii. i, 
350 above. 

151. Ingrate. "Ingrateful" (v. 7. 43 below), or ungrateful ; as 
in T. N. V. I. 116, Cor. v. 2. 92, etc. Revolts = deserters ; as in 
V. 4. 7 below, and in Cymb. iv. 4. 6. 

154. Pale-visag' d. Cf. " maid-pale " in Rich. II. iii. 3. 98. 

157. Needles. The ist and 2d folios have "Needl's," indicating 
the metrical contraction. Some editors give " neelds " (an old form 
of the word), as in R. of L. 319, M. N. D. iii. 2. 204, and Per, iv. 
prol. 23. 

159. Brave. Bravado. Cf. i Hen. VI. iii. 2. 123: "Now 
where 's the Bastard's braves, and Charles his gleeks ? " 

162. Brabbler. Brawler. It is the name of a dog in T. and C. 
v. I. 99. Cf. brabble = brawl, in T. A/, v. i. 68. 

176. And in his forehead sits, etc. Cf. Rich. II. iii. 2. 160: — 

" for within the hollow crown 
That rounds the mortal temples of a king 
Keeps Death his court, and there the antic sits," etc. 



Scene III. — 8. Swinstead. Halliwell-Phillipps reads " Swines- 
head," which is unquestionably correct ; but S. copied the mistake 
from the old play. Swineshead is in Lincolnshire, about seven 
miles southwest of Boston. It is now a rural town, but was then a 
seaport. The abbey, about half a mile east of the town, was founded 
by Robert de Greslei in 1134. It was a large and magnificent 
structure, but nothing is now left of it. The mansion known as 
Swineshead Abbey stands near the site, and was built with mate- 
rials from the ancient abbey. 



Scene III] 



Notes 



213 



9. Supply, Reinforcements; as in v. 5. 12 below. See also 
I Hen. IV. iv. 3. 3, 2 Hen. IV. i. 3. 28, etc. 

II. ^r*?. Changed by Capell to " Was ; " but supply is used as 
a collective noun (cf. v. 5. 12). The relative in the intervening 
line takes a singular verb, but this is not uncommon. Wracked 
( — wrecked) is the only spelling in the early eds. 

The Goodzvin Sands or " the Goodwins" {M. of V. iii. i. 4) are 
dangerous shoals off the eastern coast of Kent, not far from the 
mouth of the Thames. Tradition says that they were once an island 
belonging to Earl Godwin, which was swallowed up by the sea 
about A.D. 1 100. 




The Goodwin Sands, during a Storm 

12. Richard. The messenger here uses the Christian name given 
to the knight, though he has just called him Faulconbridge. " It is 
as if the poet wished to show that the renownedly brave man was 
known familiarly by both titles " (Clarke). 

13. Retire themselves. Retreat, For the reflexive use, cf. Temp. 
V. I. 310, W. T. iv. 4. 663, 0th. ii. 3. 386, etc. 



214 Notes [Act V 

Scene IV. — i. Stored with. Well supplied with. Cf. Hen. V, 
iii. 5. 31 : "To new store France with bastard warriors," etc. 

5. In spite of spite. "Come the worst that may" (Schmidt). 
Cf. 3 Hen. VI. ii. 3. 5 : " And, spite of spite, needs must I rest 
awhile." 

7. Revolts. See on v. 2. 151 above. 

10. Bought and sold. Betrayed. Cf. C. of E. iii. I. 72: "It 
would make a man mad as a buck to be so bought and sold." 
See also Rich. III. v. 3. 305, T. and C. ii. i. 51, etc. 

11. Unthread the rude eye. Changed by Theobald to "Untread 
the rude way." Johnson says that "the metaphor is certainly 
harsh," but he does not think the passage corrupted. Malone 
compares Lear^ ii. i. 121 : "threading dark-eyed night;" and 
Cor. iii. i. 127: "They would not thread the gates." See also 
Rich. Il.y. $. 17: — 

" It is as hard to come, as for a camel 
To thread the postern of a needle's eye." 

Clarke says : " The metaphor has the more propriety because to 
thread the eye of a needle is a process of some difficulty [cf. the 
paraphrase from the Bible in the passage just quoted], while to 
unthread a needle's eye is, on the contrary, one of the most easy 
of tasks : therefore the proposal to unthread the rude eye of rebel- 
lion appropriately metaphorizes the intricate course they have taken 
in forsaking the English side and revolting to the French, and also 
the facile one they would take in withdrawing themselves from it 
and returning to their natural allegiance." Schmidt under Eye 
suggests that the word here may be a misprint for " tye " {tie^ ; but 
under Unthread he says : " The constant combination of the words 
thread and eye in all these passages [the present one and those 
quoted above from Rich. II. and Lear~\ is sufficient to refute the 
different emendations proposed by the commentators, not excepting 
that attempted in this lexicon sub Eye^ For the homely character 
of the metaphor, Halliwell-Phillipps compares iv. 3. 148 above: 
" the bare-pick'd bone of majesty," etc. 



Scene IV] Notes 215 

14. Lords. The Cambridge editors conjecture "lord," which is 
favoured by the he in the next line. Cf. Hen. V. iv. 4. 80 : " The 
French might have a good prey of us if he knew of it ; " and 30 
below : " I say again, if Lewis do win the day," where Lewis must 
be the French of the present passage. 

This loud day. " By the one little monosyllable loud here, how 
finely does the poet set before our imagination the uproar of battle 
— the drums, and tramplings, and trumpetings, and shoutings, and 
groanings of an engagement ! " (Clarke). 

1 7. Moe. More ; used by S. often, but only with a plural or 
collective noun. 

18. Saint Edmundsbury. The ancient town of Bury St. Ed- 
mund's in Suffolk, about sixty miles northeast of London, Por- 
tions of the abbey, in which this famous meeting of the nobles took 
place, still remain. The illustration of the altar (frontispiece, from 
Knight's Pictorial Shakspere') is copied from Lydgate's Life of St. 
Edmund (Harl. Ms. 2278) ; the manner of taking the oath, from 
an illumination in the Metrical Hist, of Rich. LL. (Harl. Ms. 1319), 
representing the Earl of Northumberland at Conway Castle, swear- 
ing on the gospels to secure safe conduct to Richard on his journey 
to London ; and the costumes, from the effigies of Salisbury (in 
Salisbury Cathedral), Pembroke (in the Temple Church, London), 
and other contemporary monuments. 

23. Quantity. A small portion; as in T. of S. iv. 3. 112: 
"Away, thou rag, thou quantity, thou remnant ; " 2 Hen. LV. v. i. 
70 : " If I were sawed into quantities, I should make four dozen of 
such bearded hermit's staves," etc. 

24. A form of wax. A waxen image, such as witches were sup- 
posed to make of a person whom they wished to destroy, and who 
pined away as the image was melted by them before a fire. Hol- 
inshed tells how King Dufife of Scotland " fell into a languishing 
disease " which none of his physicians could understand. Vv^itch- 
craft was suspected, and Donwald, lieutenant of the castle of Forres, 
learning through a daughter of one of the witches " in what house 



2i6 Notes [Act V 

in the towne it was where they wrought there mischiefous mysterie, 
he sent foorth souldiers, about the middest of the night, who break- 
ing into the house, found one of the witches rosting vpon a woodden 
broch an image of wax at the fier, resembling in each feature the 
kings person, made and deuised (as is to be thought) by craft and 
art of the diuell : an other of them sat reciting certeine words of 
inchantment, and still basted the image with a certeine liquor verie 
busilie. The souldiers finding them occupied in this wise, tooke 
them togither with the image, and led them into the castell, where 
being streictlie examined for what purpose they went about such 
manner of inchantment, they answered, to the end to make away 
the king : for as the image did waste afore the fire, so did the bodie 
of the king breake foorth in sweat. And as for the words of in- 
chantment, they serued to keepe him still waking from sleepe, so 
that as the wax euer melted, so did the kings flesh : by the which 
meanes it should haue come to passe, that when the wax was once 
cleane consumed, the death of the king should immediatlie follow. 
So were they taught by euill spirits, and hired to worke the feat by 
the nobles of Murrey land. The standers by, that heard such an 
abhominable tale told by these witches, streigtwaiss brake the 
image, and caused the witches (according as they had well de- 
serued) to bee burnt to death." This kind of witchcraft is very 
ancient. We find it in the Idyls of Theocritus and the Eclogues 
of Virgil ; also in Horace {Epodes, xvii. 76 and Satires, i. 8. 50). 
See also the story of " The Leech of Folkestone " in The Ingoldsby 
Legends. 

25. Resolveth. Dissolveth ; 2Am Ham.'x. 2. 130: "Thaw and 
resolve itself into a dew," etc. 

27. Use. Utility, advantage. 

29. Hence. In another world ; antithetical to here = this world, 
as in iv. 2. 89 above. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 232 : " Both here and hence 
pursue me lasting strife," etc. 

37. Rated. Appraised. " It were easy to change rated to hated, 
for an easier meaning, but rated suits better with fine. The Dau- 



Scene V] Notes 217 

phin has rated your treachery, and set upon it a fine^ which your 
lives must pay" (Johnson). 

38. Fine. A play on the sense of " end." 

41. Respect. Consideration. Cf. iii. i. 318 above. 

42. For that. Because that. The line is taken from the old 
play. 

44. In lieu whereof. In return for which ; the only meaning of 
the phrase in S. 

45. Ru77iour. Confused sounds ; as in/". C. ii. 4. 18: " I heard 
a bustling rumour, like a fray." 

49. Beshrew. A mild form of imprecation. Cf. v. 5. 14 below. 

50. Favour. Aspect, look. Cf. Sonn. 125. 5 : "dwellers on 
form and favour," etc. 

52. Untread. Retrace. Cf. V. and A. goS : "She treads the 
path that she untreads again." See also M. of V. ii. 6. 10. 

53. Bated and retired. Abating and receding. CL M. of V.'w. 
I. 72 : "And bid the main flood bate his usual height." On re- 
tired, cf. brooded, iii. 3. 52 above. 

54. Rdnkness. Exuberance, excess, overflowing. 

55. C erlook' d. Schmidt make this = slighted, despised ; but it 
may be = risen so high as to look over. Cf. overpeering in Ham, 
iv. 5. 99 : "The ocean overpeering of his list." See also iii. i. 23 
above : " Like a proud river peering o'er his bounds." 

60. Right. " In a manner deserving the name " (Schmidt) ; as 
in iii. i. 183 above. 

61. Happy newness, etc. " Happy innovation that purposes the 
restoration of the ancient rightful government" (Johnson). 

Scene V. — 3. English measure. The folio reading, changed to 
" th' English measur'd " by Pope and some modern editors. As 
rieay remarks, "the meaning is general, at English measuring, 
not specific." 

4. Retire. See on ii. i. 326 above. 

7. Tottering. " Waving " (Fleay) . Qi. The Spanish Tragedy : — 



21 8 Notes [Act V 

*' A man hanging and tottering and tottering, 
As you know the wind will wave a man." 

Schmidt and others make it = hanging in rags, tattered. Cf. tot- 
tered = tattered, in i Hen. IV. iv. 2. 37 (ist folio) : " a hundred and 
fiftie totter'd Prodigalls." The ist and 2d quartos have "tottered" 
\n Rich. II. iii. 3. 52: "this castle's totter'd battlements" ("tat- 
ter'd" in folios). If tottering — tottered here, it is an instance of 
the active participle used for the passive. 

Clearly is either = quite, completely (cf. iii. 4. 122 above), as 
Fleay explains it ; or = stainlessly, as Schmidt gives it. The Cam- 
bridge editors conjecture " cleanly." 

13. Are. See on v. 3. ii above. 

14. Shrewd. Bad, evil ; its original meaning. Cf. A. Y. L. v. 
4. 179. "That have endur'd shrewd days and nights with us." 

18. The stumbling night. That is, in which one is liable to 
stumble. Cf, v. 6. 12 below : "eyeless night" (that is, in which 
one cannot see). 

20. Keep good quarter. Keep your posts in good order. Cf . i 
Hen. VI. ii. i. 63 : " Had all your quarters been as safely kept." 

22. Adventure. Hazard, chance. Cf. C. of E. ii. 2. 218 : "At 
all adventures" ( = at all hazards), etc. 

Scene VI. — 6. Perfect. Right, correct ; as in 2 Hen. IV, iii. 
I. 88 : "a perfect guess," etc. 

. 12. Eyeless. See on v. 5. 18 above. Fleay thinks it is = star- 
less, "the stars being the night's eyes, as the sun is the day's." 
The 1st folio has " endles," the later folios " endlesse " or " end- 
less ; " corrected by Theobald. Schmidt explains " endless " as 
" infinite, excessive, that is, extremely dark. " 

15. Scape. Not "'scape," as usually printed, being often found 
in prose. 

16. Sans. Without. The word was fully Anglicized in the 
time of S., being used in French and Italian dictionaries to de- 
fine sans and senza. 



Scene VI] Notes 219 

17. Brow of night. "As we say, in the face of day" (Fleay). 

22. Swoon. Spelt " swound " in the first three folios. Cf. R. of 
L. i486, where it rhymes with wounds. Elsewhere in the early eds. 
we find " swoond," " swoon," " swoun," " swown," and " sound." 

24. Broke out. Forced my way, 

26. The better ay-jn you, etc. The better prepare yourself for the 
sudden change that will take place in affairs after the king's death. 

27. At leisure. That is, less promptly, or at other people's 
leisure. 

28. Taste. It was the custom for kings to have their food tasted 
before it was served, as a precaution against poison. Cf. Rich. II. 
V. 5. 99 : "Taste of it first, as thou art wont to do." Halliwell- 
Phillipps quotes Deloney, Strange Histories, 1607 : — 

" For why, the monke the taste before him tooke, 
Nor saw the king how ill it made him looke ; 
And therefore he a hearty draught did take, 
Which of his royal life dispatch did make." 

29. Resolved. Resolute, determined. Cf. Rich. III. i. 3. 340 : 
" How now, my hardy, stout, resolved mates ? " 

Malone remarks : " Not one of the historians who wrote within 
sixty years after the death of King John mentions this very improb- 
able story. The tale is, that a monk, to revenge himself on the 
king for a saying at which he took offence, poisoned a cup of ale, 
and having brought it to his majesty, drank some of it himself to 
induce the king to taste it, and soon afterwards expired. Thomas 
Wykes is the first who relates it, in his Chronicle, as a report^'' 

32. Who, For whom, as often. 

39. Power. Force. See on iii. 3. 70 above. 

40. Taken by the tide. On the 14th of October, 121 6, as the 
king was attempting to ford the Wash at low water, and had 
already got across himself, with the greater part of his army, the 
return of the tide suddenly swept away the carriages and horses 
that conveyed all his baggage and treasures ; and the spot is still 



220 Notes [Act V 

known as " King's Corner." It was on the same night that the 
king arrived at the Cistercian monastery at Swineshead, and was 
taken with the fever of which he died. 

44. Doubt. Fear. See on iv. i. 19 above ; and for or ere, on 
iv. 3. 20. 

Scene VII. — i. Prince Henry. The prince was only nine 
years old when his father died. 

2. Corruptibly. So as to be corrupted ; used by S. only here. 
Halliwell-Phillipps cites Deloney's account of John's death in his 
Strange Histories: "Distempering then the pure unspotted 
braine." 

4. Idle. Wandering. 

10, Orchard. Garden ; the usual meaning in S. 

John did not die at Swineshead (or Sioijistead') , as here repre- 
sented. On the day after he arrived there (see on v. 6. 40 above J, 
though very ill, he was conveyed in a litter to the Castle of Sleaford, 
and thence on the i6th of October to the Castle of Newark, where 
he expired on the i8th, in the 49th year of his age and the 17th of 
his reign. 

16. Insensible. The folio has " inuisible," which is retained by 
some editors. Knight explains it as " unlooked-at, disregarded." 
Fleay puts a comma before it, and says that death " is visibly acting 
while preying on the body, but invisible when he attacks the mind." 
Neither of these interpretations seems to me satisfactory, and I 
have little hesitation in adopting Hanmer's emendation, as the 
majority of editors do. 

22. Who chants, etc. For the allusion to the poetic idea of the 
dying song of the swan, see E. of I, 161 1 : — 

" And now this pale swan in her watery nest 
Begins the sad dirge of her certain ending ; " 

Phoenix and Turtle, 15 : "the death-divining swan;" Otk. v. 2. 
247 : — 



Scene VII] Notes 221 



" I will play the swan, 
And die in music ; " 

and M. of V, iii. 2. 44 : — 

" Then if he lose, he makes a swan-like end, 
Fading in music." 

26. Indigest. Indigested or shapeless mass, chaos ; the only- 
instance of the noun in S. The adjective (= chaotic, formless) 
occurs in Sonn. 1 14. 5 : "monsters and things indigest." Ovid 
(JMet. I.) describes Chaos as "rudis indigestaque moles." 

35. Fare. Metrically a dissyllable. 

yj. To thrust his icy fingers, etc. Steevens quotes Dekker, 
GuPs Hornbook, 1609 : "the morning waxing cold, thrust his 
frosty fingers into thy bosome ; " and The Great Frost, etc., 1608 : 
" The cold hand of winter is thrust into our bosoms." The corre- 
sponding passage in the old play reads thus : — 

" Philip, some drink. O, for the frozen Alps 
To tumble on, and cool this inward heat, 
That rageth as a furnace seven-fold hot." 

42. Cold comfort. There is a play upon the phrase, which was 
ironically used, as it still is, in the sense of small comfort. Cf, 
T. of S, iv. I. 33 : "or shall I complain of thee to our mistress, 
whose hand, she being now at hand, thou shalt soon feel, to thy 
cold comfort, for being slow in thy hot office ? " For the quibbling 
on a death-bed, cf. Rich. II. ii. i. 73 fol. ^/r^?V = niggardly, 
parsimonious. 

43. Ingrateful. Used by S. interchangeably with ungrateful. 
So incertain and uncertain, infortunate (ii. i. 178 above) and 
unfortiaiate, etc. 

50. Spleen. Eagerness, impetuosity. See on ii. i. 68 above. 

51. Set. That is, close. 

52. Tackle. For the metaphor, cf. Cor. iv. 5. 67 : — 



222 Notes [Act V 

" Thou hast a grim appearance, and thy face 
Bears a command in 't ; though thy tackle 's torn, 
Thou show'st a noble vessel." 

58. Module. The spelling of the folio here and in A. W. iv. 3. 
114: ** this counterfeit module." Elsewhere it is model, which 
some editors substitute here. It is = image ; as in Rich. II. 

i. 2. 28 : — 

" In that thou seest thy wretched brother die. 
Who was the model of thy father's life ; " 

Hen. VIII. iv. 2. 132 : "The model of our chaste loves, his young 
daughter," etc. Confounded — ruined ; the most common mean- 
ing in S. Cf. iv. 2. 29 above. 

59. Preparing hitherward. For the ellipsis, cf. Rich. II. v. I. 
37 : " prepare thee hence for France ; " and Cor. iv. 5. 140 : 
" Who am prepar'd against your territories." 

60. Heaven. Very likely " God " was the original word, changed 
by the editors of the folio on account of the statute of James against 
the use of the divine name on the stage. Cf. iii. i. 156 above. 

62. Upon. On account of, for the sake of. Cf. ii. i. 597, iv. 2. 
214, and v. I. 18 above. \ 

63. Were in the Washes, etc. This accident really happened to 
John himself. See on v. 6. 40 above. 

74. Now, now, you stars, etc. Addressed to the revolted nobles 
who had returned to their allegiance. 

86. Presently to leave. Immediately to give up. For presently, 
cf. ii. I. 538 above. 

99. At Worcester. John died at Newark (see on 10 above), 
commending his body and soul to God and to St. Wulfstan, the 
last great English saint who had been canonized. His body, 
arrayed in royal apparel, was accordingly conveyed to Worcester, 
where it was interred in the Cathedral, the great church ,t)egun by 
Wulfstan in 1084 and dedicated to his honour in 1218. The tomb 
on which the king's effigy rests (see cut, p. 8 above) is a work of 
the 1 6th century, but the effigy itself is said to be the original cover 



Scene VII] Notes 223 

of the stone coffin in which the remains of John were discovered 
under the pavement of the choir in 1797. It is the earliest sculp- 
tured representation of an English monarch that remains in the 
country. In 1207 John visited Worcester, and after praying at 
the tomb of Wulfstan gave three hundred marks for the repair of 
the Cathedral. According to Holinshed, the king was buried at 
Croxton Abbey in Staffordshire ; but Matthew Paris states that it 
was at Worcester. 

no. 0, let us pay ^ etc. "As previously we have found sufficient 
cause for lamentation, let us not waste the present time in super- 
fluous sorrow" (Steevens). Clarke paraphrases the passage thus: 
" Let us pay but the due amount of lamentation to that woe which 
is past ; since time now promises to put a period to our griefs by 
better unity among ourselves." 

116. Come the three corners, etc. That is, let the rest of the 
world come against us, and we shall withstand them. Cf. Temp, i, 
2. 491 : "all corners else o' the earth;" and Cymb. iii. 4. 39: 
"All corners of the world." 

1 1 8. If England to itself do rest but true. Cf. the ending of the 
old play : — 

" Let England live but true within itself, 
And all the world can never wrong her state. 

If England's peers and people join in one, 

Nor pope, nor Fraunce, nor Spain, can do them wrong." 

See also 3 Hen. VI. iv. i. 40 : — 

" Why, knows not Montague that of itself 
England is safe, if true within itself ? " 

Steevens cites Churchyard, Discourse of Rebellion, 15 70; — 

" O Britayne bloud, marke this at my desire : 
If that you sticke together as you ought 
This lyttle yle may set the world at nought." 



224 Notes [Act V 

Reed traces the sentiment back to Andrew Borde (who died in 
1549), Introd. of Knowledge : " for if they [the English] were true 
wythin themselves they nede not to feare although al nacions were 
set against them." 



APPENDIX 

Mrs. Siddons on Constance 

Mrs. Siddons left behind her in manuscript her own analysis of 
the character of Constance, and I extract from Campbell's Life 
of Siddons (published in 1 834, and out of print) this commentary 
of a great actress on Shakespeare : — 

" My idea of Constance is that of a lofty and proud spirit, asso- 
ciated with the most exquisite feelings of maternal tenderness, 
which is, in truth, the predominant feature of this interesting per- 
sonage. The sentiments which she expresses, in the dialogue be- 
tween herself, the King of France, and the Duke of Austria, at the 
commencement of the second act of this tragedy, very strongly 
evince the amiable traits of a humane disposition and of a grateful 
heart. 

^ ^ % % '^ % 

" The ideas one naturally adopts of her qualities and appearance 
are, that she is noble in mind, and commanding in person and de- 
meanour ; that her countenance was capable of all the varieties of 
grand and tender expression, often agonized, though never dis- 
torted by the vehemence of her agitations. Her voice, too, must 
have been * propertied like the tuned spheres,' obedient to all the 
softest inflections of maternal love, to all the pathos of the most 
exquisite sensibility, to the sudden burst of heart-rending sorrow, 
and to the terrifying imprecations of indignant majesty, when writh- 
ing under the miseries inflicted on her by her dastardly oppressors 
and treacherous allies. The actress whose lot it is to personate this 
great character should be richly endowed by nature for its various 
requirements ; yet, even when thus fortunately gifted, much, very 

KING JOHN — 15 225 



226 Appendix 

much, remains to be effected by herself; for in the performance 
of the part of Constance great difficulties, both mental and physical, 
present themselves. And perhaps the greatest of the former class 
is that of imperiously holding the mind reined in to the immediate 
perception of those calamitous circumstances which take place dur- 
ing the course of her sadly eventful history. The necessity for this 
severe abstraction will sufficiently appear, when we remember that 
all those calamitous events occur while she herself is absent from 
the stage ; so that this power is indispensable for that reason alone, 
were there no other to be assigned for it. Because, if the repre- 
sentative of Constance shall ever forget, even behind the scenes, 
those disastrous events which impel her to break forth into the 
overwhelming effusions of wounded friendship, disappointed ambi- 
tion, and maternal tenderness, upon the first moment of her appear- 
ance in the third act, when, stunned with terrible surprise, she 
exclaims — 

' Gone to be married — gone to swear a peace ! 
False blood to false blood join'd — gone to be friends ! ' — 

if, I say, the mind of the actress for one moment wanders from 
these distressing events, she must inevitably fall short of that high 
and glorious colouring which is indispensable to the painting of this 
magnificent portrait. 

"The quality of abstraction has always appeared to me so neces- 
sary in the art of acting that I shall probably, in the course of these 
remarks, be thought too frequently and pertinaciously to advert to 
it. I am now, however, going to give a proof of its usefulness in 
the character under our consideration ; and I wish my opinion 
were of sufficient weight to impress the importance of this power 
on the minds of all candidates for dramatic fame. Here, then, is 
one example among many others which I could adduce. When- 
ever I was called upon to personate the character of Constance, I 
never, from the beginning of the play to the end of my part in it, 
once suffered my dressing-room door to be closed, in order that' 



Appendix 227 

my attention might be constantly fixed on those distressing events 
which, by this means, I could plainly hear going on upon the stage, 
the terrible effects of which progress were to be represented by me. 
Moreover, I never omitted to place myself, with Arthur in my hand, 
to hear the march, when, upon the reconciliation of England and 
France, they enter the gates of Anglers to ratify the contract of 
marriage between the Dauphin and the Lady Blanch ; because the 
sickening sounds of that march would usually cause the bitter tears 
of rage, disappointment, betrayed confidence, baffled ambition, and, 
above all, the agonizing feelings of maternal affection, to gush into 
my eyes. In short, the spirit of the whole drama took possession 
of my mind and frame, by my attention being incessantly riveted to 
the passing scenes. Thus did I avail myself of every possible assist- 
ance, for there was need of all in this most arduous effort ; and I 
have no doubt that the observance of such circumstances, however 
irrelevant they may appear upon a cursory' view, was powerfully 
aidant in the representations of those expressions of passion in the 
remainder of this scene, which have been only in part considered, 
and to the conclusion of which I now proceed. 

" Goaded and stung by the treachery of her faithless friends, and 
almost maddened by the injuries they have heaped upon her, she 
becomes desperate and ferocious as a hunted tigress in defence of 
her young, and it seems that existence itself must nearly issue forth 
with the utterance of that frantic and appalling exclamation — 

' A wicked day, and not a holy day, 
What hath this day deserv'd ? what hath it done,' etc. 

" When King Philip says to her — 

' By heaven, lady, you shall have no cause 
To curse the fair proceedings of this day. 
Have I not pawn'd to you my majesty ? ' — 

what countenance, what voice, what gesture, shall realize the scorn 
and indignation of her reply to the heartless King of France ? 



228 Appendix 



And then the awful, trembling solemnity, the utter helplessness of 
that soul-subduing, scriptural, and prophetic invocation — 

' Arm, arm, you heavens, against these perjur'd kings! 
A widow cries : be husband to me, heavens ! 
Let not the hours of this ungodly day 
Wear out the day in peace ; but, ere sunset, 
Set armed discord 'twixt these perjur'd kings.' 

" If it ever were, or ever shall be, portrayed with its appropriate 
and solemn energy, it must be then, and then only, when the power 
I have so much insisted on, co-operating also with a high degree 
of enthusiasm, shall have transfused the mind of the actress into 
the person and situation of the august and afflicted Constance. 
The difficulty, too, of representing, with tempered rage and digni- 
fied contempt, the biting sarcasm of the speeches to Austria (iii. i) 
may be more easily imagined than explained. 

" But, in truth, to beget, in these whirlwinds of the soul, such 
temperance as, according to the lesson of our inspired master, shall 
give them smoothness, is a difficulty which those only can appreci- 
ate who have made the effort. 

" I cannot, indeed, conceive, in the whole range of dramatic 
character, greater difficulty than that of representing this grand 
creature. Brought before the audience in the plenitude of her 
afflictions ; oppression and falsehood having effected their destruc- 
tive mark ; the full storm of adversity, in short, having fallen upon 
her in the interval of their absence from her sight, the effort of 
pouring properly forth so much passion as past events have excited 
in her, without any visible previous progress towards her climax of 
desperation, seems almost to exceed the power of imitation. Hers 
is an affliction of so ' sudden, floodgate, and o'erbearing nature ' 
that art despairs of realizing it, and the effort is almost life-exhaust- 
ing. Therefore, whether the majestic, the passionate, the tender 
Constance has ever yet been, or ever will be, personated to the en- 
tire satisfaction of sound judgment and fine taste, I believe to be 
doubtful ; for I believe it to be nearly impossible. 



Appendix 229 

" I now come to the concluding scene ; and I believe I shall not 
be thought singular when I assert that, though she has been desig- 
nated the ambitious Constance, she has been ambitious only for her 
son. It was for him, and him alone, that she aspired to, and strug- 
gled for, hereditary sovereignty. For example, you find that, from 
that fatal moment when he is separated from her, not one regret 
for lost regal power or splendour ever escapes from her lips ; no, 
not one idea does she from that instant utter which does not un- 
answerably prove that all other considerations are annihilated in 
the grievous recollections of motherly love. That scene (iii. 4), I 
think, must determine that maternal tenderness is the predominant 
feature of her character. 

" Her gorgeous affliction, if such an expression is allowable, 
is of so sublime and so intense a character that the personation 
of its grandeur, with the utterance of its rapid and astonishing elo- 
quence, almost overwhelms the mind that meditates its realization 
and utterly exhausts the frame which endeavours to express its 
agitations." 

The Time-Analysis of the Play 

This is summed up by Mr. P. A. Daniel ( Trans, of New Shaks. 
Soc. 1877-1879, p. 263) as follows : — 

" Time of this play seven days ; with intervals, comprising in all 
not more than three or four months. 

Day I. Act I. sc. i. 
Interval: return of French Ambassador, and arrival of John in 

France. 

Day 2. Act II. sc. i., Act III. sc. i. to iii. 
Interval : some little time must be supposed to have elapsed since 

the battle ; for the French know that John has fortified the 

places he has won, and has returned to England ; from whence 

also they have intelligence that the Bastard is ransacking the 

Church. 



230 Appendix 

Day 3. Act III. sc. iv. 
Interval : during this interval, the deaths of Constance and Elinor 
(28th March and ist April) must take place. 
Day 4. Act IV. sc. i. to Hi. 
Interval: the arrival of Ascension Day, the presence of Pandulph, 
the news of the Dauphin's successes, imperatively demand an 
interval between this scene and the preceding Act ; on the 
other hand, we find that the Bastard has only now returned from 
his mission to the nobles, and that the King now hears for the 
first time of Arthur's actual death : these facts are incompatible 
with any interval ; they connect this scene with the scenes of 
Act IV., as part of Day 4. The main plot, however, is impossi- 
ble without a supposed interval, and we must force the play to 
allow it. 

Day 5. Act V. sc. i. 
Interval: including at least Pandulph's return journey to the 
Dauphin, the Bastard's preparation for defence, and his and 
King John's journey with their army to Edmundsbury. 
Day 6. Act V. sc. ii. to v. 
Day 7. Act V. sc. vi. and vii. 
Historical time : A.D. 1 199-1216 ; the whole of King John's reign." 
As I remarked in commenting on a similar instance in Mr. 
Daniel's time-analysis of Mzick Ado, I think his perplexity in 
regard to the interval after Day 4 is due — partially at least — to 
Shakespeare's peculiar treatment of " dramatic time " (his " two 
clocks," as it has been aptly called), to which I have referred more 
at length in the introduction to the revised As You like It. 



List of Characters in the Play 

The numbers in parentheses indicate the lines the characters 
have in each scene. 

King John: i. i (48) ; ii. i (104) ; iii. i (34), 2 (3), 3 (64) : 
iv. 2 (119) ; V. I (27), 3 (8), 7 (28). Whole no. 435. 



Appendix 231 



Prince Henry : v. 7 (29). Whole no. 29. 

Arthtir : ii. i (9); iii. i (i), 3 (i) ; iv. i (99), 3 (10). Whole 
no. 120. 

Pembroke: iv. 2(56), 3(13) ; v. 4(4), 7(6). Whole no. 79. 

Essex : i. i (3). Whole no. 3. 

Salisbury: iii. 1(6); iv. 2(28), 3(53); v. 2(32), 4(19), 
7(20). Whole no. 158. 

Bigot: iv. 3(9). Whole no. 9. 

Hubert: iii. 3 (8) ; iv. i (43), 2 (35), 3 (25) ; v. 3 (i), 6 (28). 
Whole no. 140. 

Robert Faulconbridge : i. i (22). Whole no. 22. 

Bastard: i. i (143) ; ii. i (123) ; iii. 1(9), 2(8), 3(5) ; iv. 
2(22), 3(57); V. 1(43), 2(53), 6(20), 7(39). Whole no. 
522. 

Gurney : i. 1(1). Whole no. i, 

Peter : iv. 2(1). Whole no. i. 

King Philip : ii. i (119) ; iii. i (48), 4(26). Whole no. 193. 

Lezvis: ii. i (28) ; iii. i (8), 4(18) ; v. 2(83), 5 (17). Whole 
no. 154. 

Austria: ii. i (27) ; iii. i (8). Whole no. 35. 

Pandulph : iii, 1(72), 4(67); v. i (ii), 2(15). Whole no. 
165. 

Melun: v. 4(39). Whole no. 39. 

Chatillon: i. i (16) ; ii. 1(25). Whole no. 41. 

\st Citizen : ii. i (64). Whole no. 64. 

1st Executioner : iv. i (2). Whole no. 2. 

French Herald : ii. 1(12). W^hole no. 12. 

English Herald: ii. i (13). Whole no. 13. 

Messenger : iv. 2 (14) ; v. 3(8), 5 (6). Whole no. 28. 

Elinor : i. 1(29) ; / i. i (21) ; iii. I (2), 3 (3). Whole no. 

55- 

Constance : ii. i (48) ; iii. i (141), 4(74). Whole no. 263. 
Blanch: ii. i (15) ; iii. i (27). Whole no. 42. 
Lady Faulconbridge : i. i (15)- W^hole no. 15. 



232 Appendix 

In the above enumeration parts of lines are counted as whole 
lines, making the total in the play greater than it is. The actual 
number of lines in each scene (Globe edition numbering) is as 
follows : i. I (276) ; ii. I (598) ; iii. I (347), 2 (lo), 3 (73), 
4 (183) ; iv. I (134), 2 (269), 3 (159) ; V. I (79), 2 (180), 3 (17), 
4 (61), 5 (22), 6 (44), 7 (118). Whole no. in the play, 2570. 



INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES 
EXPLAINED 



a' (=he), 143 
a many, 199 
abortives, 191 
Absey-book, 148 
adjunct, 187 
adulterate (verb), 176 
advanced, 162 
advantage, 186 
adventure, 218 
advice, 188 
advised, 174 
aery, 212 
afeard, 197 
affecteth, 143 
after (= afterwards) , 167 
airy devils, 185 
alchemist, plays the, 176 
all (intensive), 155 
aloft (preposition), 197 
amazed, 197, 204 
amazement, 207 
an angel spake, 209 
anatomy (= Death), 188 
angel (gold coin), 173, 

186 
angerly, 194 
antique (accent), 195 
apparent, 196 
armado, 187 
arras, 192 
as, 184 
as great Alcides' shows, 

etc., 158 
aspect (accent), 163, 196, 

200 
assured (= affianced), 171 
at hand, 210 
at leisure, 219 
at your sick service, 193 
Ate, 155 

Austria, Duke of, 153, 177 
aweless, 151 

babe of clouts, 189 

bad world the while ! 196 



banked, 210 
Basilisco-like, 150 
Bastard, the, 142 
bated, 217 
battery, 169 
beads (= tears), 160 
become (= adorn) , 207 
Bedlam, 160 
behaviour, 140 
beholding (= beholden), 

150 
beldams, 198 

bell, book, and candle, 186 
beshrew, 217 
bestow yourself, 180 
bethink you, 179 
bias, 172 

Bigot, Roger, 202 
Blanch of Castile, 155 
bloods, 164 
blots, 175 
boisterous, 194 
boisterously, 190 
book of beauty, 170 
bottoms (= ships), 156 
bought and sold, 214 
bounce, 169 
bound (= confine), 168 
bounden, 186 
brabbler, 212 
brave (= bravado), 212 
brave (= noble) , 209 
brief (= abstract), 156 
brief in hand, 205 
broke out, 219 
broke with, 200 
broker, 172 

brooded (^brooding), 187 
brow of night, 219 
buffets, 169 
businesses, 205 
buss, 188 

but (= except), 176 
but for because, 173 
but new before, 180 

233 



call (= bird-call), 191 
canker-sorrow, 190 
cankered, 162 
canonized (accent), 178, 

189 
capable, 170, 174 
cards, 211 

censured (= judged), 165 
chafed, 181 

charge (=cost), 142, 210 
Chatillon (metre), 141 
check, 157 
chiefest, 154 
Christendom, 193 
churlish drums, 184 
cincture, 205 
circle (= diadem) , 206 
clap a bargain up, 180 
clearly, 218 
climate (= sky), 165 
clippeth, 209 
close (= reserved) , 196 
closely (= secretly), 194 
clutch, 173 
cockered, 207 
Coeur-de-lion (spelling), 

142 
coil (= ado), 1 60 
Colbrand, 149 
cold comfort, 221 
coldly (= calmly), 155 
commodity, 172, 174 
complete of, 168 
compliment, 148 
compound (= agree), 164 
compulsion, 209 
concealed wells, 211 
conceit, 187 
concludes, this, 144 
condition (= quality) , 185 
conduct (= escort), 141 
confess (= be honest) , 150 
confound (=ruin), 195, 222 
conjunction, 169 
conjure (accent), 201 



234 Index of Words and Phrases 



Constance, 152 
content, 175 
contrary (accent), 199 
control (=constraint), 140 
conversion, 147 
convertite, 207 
corners (of world), 223 
corruptibly, 220 
counterfeit, 177 
counties, 206 
cousin, 185 
covetousness, 195 
cracker (play upon), 158 
cry aim, 162 
cry havoc, 166 
crying of your nation's 

crow, 212 
customed, 191 

dam, 157 

damned black, 204 
Dauphin (spelling), 168 
dear (= grievous), 151 
defy (= refuse), 188 
departed with, 172 
detestable (accent), 188 
device, 148 
dew (= tears) , 209 
differences, 166, 180 
diffidence (= distrust), 

142 
dim (= wan), 190 
disallow, 140 
dishabited, 162 
dismember, 184 
dispiteous, 193 
displayed, 164 
displeasure, 207 
dispose (noun), 151 
distempered, 191, 202 
divinely, 163 
doth (plural), 162, 209 
doubt (= fear, suspect), 

193, 196, 220 
doubtless and secure, 194 
drawn (= levied), 197, 211 
drift, 168 
dunghill, 203 
dying (play upon), 164 

easy (adverb), 204 
effect (= import), 193 
eld'st, 160 

Elinor of Guienne, 140 
embattailed, 199 
embounded, 204 



endamagement, 162 

enforced, 208 

England (= king of Eng- 
land), 188 

envy at, 189 

Essex, Earl of, 142 

evilly, 191 

exampled by, 203 

exclamation, 172 

excommunicate, 178 

excuse, 157 

exercise, 196 

exhalation, 191 

expedient (= rapid) , 155, 
162, 201 

eye (in bowl), 173 

eyeless (= dark), 218 

fall (= befall), 143 

fall from, 184 

fall over (= desert), 178 

fare (dissyllable), 221 

fast and loose, 180 

Faulconbridge, Robert, 

142 
favour (= aspect), 217 
fear (= cause to fear) , 167 
fearful (= full of fear), 

196 
feature, 201 
feebled, 212 
fell (= cruel), 188 
fetch about, 195 
fine (play upon), 217 
five moons, ig8 
flesh his spirit, 208 
fleshly, 201 

fondly (= foolishly) , 163 
foot (plural), 196 
foot (= step), 147 
for that, 217 
forage, 207 
force perforce, 178 
foresaid, 178 
forethought, 184 
form (= head-dress), 190 
form of wax, 215 
forwearied, 163 
from (= away from) , 205 
fronts (= brows) , 166 

gap of breath, 188 
gawds, 186 

generation (metre), 160 
gentle parle, 162 
gilt (= stained), 164 



give off" (= give up) , 207 
give us leave, 149 
glister, 207 ' 

God-a-mercy, 147 
good den, 147 
goods, 196 
Goodwin Sands, 213 
gracious, 189 
griefs, 202 
groat, 144 

guard (= ornament), 195 
Gurney, 149 

half-faced groat, 144 
handkercher, 193 
harnessed, 212 
hatch (= half-door) , 146, 

212 
head (= army), 211 
heat (= heated), 193 
heaven sake, 193 
hence, 216. 

here or hence, 196, 216 
here 's a good world ! 204 
high tides, 176 
his (= its), 186 
holds hand with, 170 
holp, 150 
horse back, 164 
hour (dissyllable), 204 
Hubert de Burgh, 186 
humorous, 177 
humour (= caprice) , 200 
humours (personal), 155 
hurly, 191 

idle (= wandering) , 220 

idly (= casually) , 196 

ill-tuned repetitions, 162 

imaginary eyes of blood, 
201 

importance (= importu- 
nity), 154 

in arms (play upon), 177 

in lieu of, 217 

in rest, 195 

in spite of spite, 214 

indenture, 154 

indifferency, 173 

indigest, 221 

indirection, 181 

indirectly, 155 

indue, 195 

infixed, 170 

inflamed, 206 

infortunate, 160 



Index of Words and Phrases 



^35 



mgrate, 212 
ingrateful, 221 
insensible, 220 
interest to, 210 
interrogatories, 178 
invasive, 207 
it (possessive), 159 

jades, 167 

Joan (= peasant girl) , 147 

join hands, 171 

keep (= occupy), 187 
keep good quarter, 218 
kinged of, 166 
knit (=join), 167 

large composition, 144 

lays you plots, 191 

leave (= give up) , 222 

liable (= allied), 210 

liable (= suitable), 200 

lien, 193 

lies on the hazards of, 144 

likes (= pleases), 171 

lineal, 156 

lives (pronunciation), 185 

lord of thy presence, 144, 

166 
loud day, 215 
love (= act of love), 193 
loves (= lovers), 189 
lusty, 168 
Lymoges, 177 

made it no conscience, 

200 
make up (= hurry on) , 

makes nice of, 190 
malicious (= malignant), 

164 
manage (noun), 141 
mark (coin), 171 
match (play upon), 169 
measures, 184 
metal, 208 
mettle, 167 
mew up, 196 
might (= could) , 165 
minion (= darling), 167 
misplaced, 190 
mistempered, 206 
modern (= trite), 188 
module, 222 
moe, 215 



monster (= cuckold), 164 
more (= greater), 154 
more circumstance, 156 
mote (spelling), 194 
motion (= impulse), 148, 

201 
mousing, 166 
muse (= wonder), 184 
mutines, 167 

needles (monosyllable), 

212 
no had, 199 
Nob (= Robert), 146 

occasion (= fortune) , 196 
ocean (trisyllable), 165, 

204 
o'erlooked, 217 
o'ermaster, 157 
of note, 194 
offend (= harm), 194 
observation, 148 
once superfluous, 195 
opposite, 181 
or ere, 202 

orchard (= garden) , 220 
order (= agreement), 208 
orders (= conditions) , 207 
ordinance (= ordnance) , 

162 
outfaced infant state, 156 
outlook (= outface), 211 
outrage, igo 
owe (=own), 157, 163, 

196 

painted (= feigned), 177 
Pandulph, 178 
parle, 162 

party (=part), 141, 177 
pass (= reject) , 163 
passionate, 172 
pawns, 211 
pearls (= tears), 160 
peering o'er, 175 
peevish (= foolish), 168 
peized, 173 
pell-mell, 168 
perfect (= correct), 218 
perforce, 151 
persever, 168 
Pembroke, Earl of, 141 
Philip (= sparrow), 149 
Philip of France, 140 
picked (= refined) , 148 



Plantagenet, 146 
plaster (metaphor), 208 
plots of best advantages, 

155 
policy, 167 
Pomfret, 198 
possessed you with, 195 
possession (metre), 163 
potents (= potentates), 

166 
pound (plural), 143 
powers (=army), 187, 

219 
practice (= plotting) , 203 
practises (—plots), 193, 

203 
prate, 193 
precedent, 208 
presently, 222 
prisonment, 191 
private (noun), 202 
prodigious, 176 
promotions (metre), 170 
proper (= comely), 151 
propertied, 210 
protection (metre), 163 
puissance (= army), 185 
put over (= refer) , 142 
Pyrenean, 148 

qualified, 206 
quantity, 215 
quoted (= noted), 200 

rail on, 173 

ramping, 177 

rankness, 217 

rated, 216 

reason (= talk), 202 

regreet, 180 

remembers me, 190 

remembrance (metre), 208 

remorse (= pity), 202, 204 

repetitions (metre), 162 

requital, 154 

resolve (= dissolve), 216 

resolved (= resolute) , 219 

resolved (= set at rest) , 

166 
respect (= motive), 184 
respect (= regard), 186, 

190, 209, 217 
respective, 147 
retire (noun), 163, 165 
retire (reflexive), 213 
retired (= receding), 217 



236 Index of Words and Phrases 



revenue (accent), 178 
revolts (= deserters), 212, 

214 
rheum (= tears), 175, 193, 

204 
riding-rods, 145 
right (adverb), 217 
Rome (pronunciation), 

179 
round (= whisper), 172 
roundure, 163 
rub (= obstacle) , 190 
rumour (= noise), 217 

sacrament (= oath) , 208 

sad as night, 192 

safety (= custody) , 198 

Saint Edmundsbury, 202, 

^215 

Saint Mary's chapel, 171 

Salisbury, Earl of, 143 

sans, 218 

saucy, 168 

savagery, 202 

say with, 192 

scamble, 204 

scape, 218 

scath (=harm), 156 

scope, 191 

scorn at, 149 

scroyles, 166 

set (= appointed) , 196 

set (= close) , 221 

set (= game), 211 

shadow (= reflection), 170 

she (= woman) , 168 

should (= was to) , 196 

should (= would), 178 

show (= seem), 190 

shrewd, 218 

sightless (= unsightly), 

.175 
silverly, 209 
sin of times, 202 
slops (= breeches), 179 
smoke (=beat), 158 
smoke (of words), 163 
so (omitted), 190 
so fierce a cause, 188 
sociable (metre), 189 
soothest up, 177 
soul-fearing, 167 
sound (= utter), 195 
souse, 212 

speaks plain cannon fire, 
169 



sped, 197 

spirit (monosyllable), 175 

spleen (= ardour), 155, 

156, 169, 203 
spot (= disgrace) , 208 
sprightful, 198 
spurn against, 178 
staff (= lance), 164 
stand by, 203 
state (= royal state), 176 
states (= princes), 167 
stay (noun), 169 
stay (= wait for), 155 
still and anon, 193 
stored with, 214 
strait (= niggardly) , 221 
strangely fantasied, 198 
stranger (= foreign) , 208 
strong matter of, 191 
stumbling night, 218 
subject (adjective), 198 
sufficed (= satisfied), 147 
suggestions, 183 
sullen (= sad), 141 
sunset (accent), 177 
supply, 213 
surljr (= gloomy), 187 
suspire, 189 
swart (= swarthy), 175 
swinged, 164 
Swinstead, 212 
swoon (spelling), 219 

table (= tablet) , 170 

tackle, 221 

take a truce with, 175 

take head from, 173 

tarre on, 194 

taste, 219 

temporize, 211 

territories, 140 

this same very, 194 

three-farthings, 145 

thunder (= cannon), 168 

tickling, 172 

to (= in addition to), 145 

to (intensive), 209 

to (= towards), 183 

toasting-iron, 203 

toll (=take toll), 178 

to-night (= last night) , 

198 
took it upon his death, 

144 
toothpick, 147 
tottering, 217 



touched and tried, 177 

tower (in falconry), 212 

toy (= trifle), 150 

traded, 204 

train (= allure), 191 

treaty, 170 

trick (= peculiarity), 143 

true (= rightful), 203 

true blood, 191 

trumpet (= trumpeter), 

141, 162 
truth (= honesty) , 146 

unacquainted, 191 
unadvised, 155, 162, 211 
unattempted, 174 
uncleanly, 192 
unconstant, 181 
underbear, 176 
underprop, 210 
underwrought, 156 
unhaired, 211 
unowed, 204 
unreverend, 149 
unruly, 190 

unsettled humours, 155 
unsure, 182 
unsured, 170 
unthread the rude eye, 

etc., 214 
unto the death, 147 
untoward, 150 
untread, 217 
untrimmed, 179 
unvexed, 163 
up (intensive), 204 
upon (= on account of), 

208, 222 
upon commodity, 174 
use (= utility), 216 

vantage, 172 

vexed (= disturbed) , 165 

Volquessen, 171 

voluntaries, 155 

vouchsafe, 183 

vulgar (= general), 167 

waft (= wafted), 156 
walks (=goes), 197 
wall-eyed, 202 
want pleading, 194 
wanton (masculine), 207 
watchful minutes, 193 
well advised, 174 
wert better, thou, 203 



Index of Words and Phrases 237 



what (= who) , 202 
what though ? 146 
whether (monosyllable) , 

143 
which (=who), 175 
whiles, 156, 174, 190 
who (= which), 173 
who (= whom), 219 



whom (= who), 198 
whose, 203 
wilful-opposite, 211 
will (play upon), 162 
winking, 162 
with (=by), 154 
Worcester, 222 
worship of revenge, 203 



wrack, 176, 213 

wrested (= usurped), 205 

yet (= as yet) , 203 

zealous, 168 
zounds, 169 



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